


Manipulation

by Gentrychild, LadyIrina



Series: Corruption and Redemption [10]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: M/M, enemies to enemies with benefits, enemies to frenemies, frenemies to something more
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 07:32:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14491953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gentrychild/pseuds/Gentrychild, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyIrina/pseuds/LadyIrina
Summary: Wane Bathory has spent twenty years in isolation after the war against Grindelwald. His powers, stolen from Credence Barebone, is locked down and he's struggling to decide what is real or not as his mind wanders.Regis 'Scar' Fawley died in the war against Grindelwald and is spending the after-life haunting the captive.Suddenly they have to decide which is worse: death or being alive in the company of the other?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is for you, Gentrychild, as I expect you're the only one who'll want to read it and this wouldn't be written if not for you giving me the idea!

[ ](https://ibb.co/hmXJBx)

  


It was all Credence Barebone’s fault! Ever since he appeared in Wane’s cell and mentioned Scar, he’d been haunted by that idiot. In his dreams or awake as his mind slipped between reality and something else, Scar would appear and make all sorts of stupid comments. Just like he used to do in the past, before the war, before he died.

“He did have a point though,” Scar commented casually, sitting cross-legged on Wane’s cot while Wane restlessly paced the small room, “you never did believe in anything. You were just in it to advance your own powers without any real goal to it. You’re no leader; you didn’t want to replace Grindlewald, you merely wanted more; like a greedy child.”

Trying to ignore the ghost and failing, Wane suddenly spun around to face him. “Shut up! For the love of Merlin, just shut up! You were annoying in real life and dying has, if possible, only made you even more obnoxious! I’m not interested in what you got to say. Scar is dead! You’re only something my mind has made up!”

Shrugging, Scar rested one elbow on his knee and his chin in his palm. “Maybe I’m your subconscious telling you truths you don’t want to face?”

“What I want,” Wane snapped, “is for you to shut up and go away!”

“Obviously not,” Scar grinned, “as I’m still here. If I’m really a figment of your mind, you created me and you’re keeping me here. Did you really miss me that much?”

Stalking towards the cot, Wane leaned close to sneer at him. “You should be glad you’re not real, or I’d kill you myself right now!”

Scar’s grin widened. “Temper, temper,” he tutted. “No wonder they’ve kept you in isolation for twenty years. I’m amazed they don’t keep you sedated all the time, but maybe they enjoy hearing you scream as they do their experiments on you?”

Wane’s restraint snapped and he acted before realizing it would be futile; throwing a punch straight at Scar’s smirking face. 

It was hard to say which one of them had the most surprised expression on their face after Scar lifted a hand to pretend to catch the fist and a shockwave of magic shot out from the impact of Wane’s hand hitting his palm. Lights flickered and sparks flew from electrical sockets. Wane and Scar were merely staring at where the fist was caught in a very real hand.

“What…” Scar began, whispering. “What just happened…?”

Wane’s gaze moved up from their hands to stare at Scar’s face. “You’re… real?” How was that possible? He’d never been real before! He’d seen the man appear and disappear like the ghost he was. At one memorable occasion, Wane had thrown a book at him and it had gone straight through his face!

Scar released him and placed his hands against his own torso as if to check for himself. “I don’t…” He went back to stare wide-eyed at Wane. “What did you do?”

-

“I didn’t do anything, you moron! You’re the one who has changed!” Wane held his hands up in front of him and shook them, making the chains around his wrists rattle. “And I’m wearing these, so I couldn’t do anything, even if I wanted to!”

“You must have done something!” Scar accused, his voice rising along with his agitation.

If it wasn’t for the surreal situation, Wane would have loved to watch the unflappable Scar freak out, but as luck would have it; he was too busy freaking out himself to pay attention to it.

“There is no way I could have…” Wane began, close to shouting now, but his voice fell silent as he saw something that explained what had happened, even if he didn’t know ‘how’ it had happened. “Oh no,” he whispered, the situation going from bad to worse.

“What?!” Scar snapped.

Wane reached out and grabbed a hold of Scar’s left and very real wrist, drawing his attention to his hand and the black smoke emerging from it.

“What…?” Scar repeated, his voice now soft with horror.

“That’s Obscurus-magic,” Wane mumbled, torn between morbid curiosity and dread. “That’s MY Obscurus-magic!”

Scar yanked his hand free and glared at him. “Take it back!”

“I would if I knew how to!” Wane countered angrily. “You’re not worthy of such a gift! I bled for those powers! I earned them!”

“Well, I don’t want them!” Scar exclaimed. He glanced nervously at the door, hearing distant shouting. “Oh, Morgana… The guards… Why did you mess with the lights too? I don’t want to end up like a science experiment thanks to you, Bathory!”

“While I love the idea of you suffering at their hands, I don’t relish the thought of them getting their hands on MY Obscurus.” Wane huffed a humorless laugh. “Ok, Scar, these are the facts; somehow you’ve managed to steal my Obscurus-powers, making yourself corporal, and you’re stuck in the basement with a whole bunch of Unspeakables who would love to pick you apart. Maybe they’ll enjoy listening to you scream as well as me? You can either take your chance with them, or… we get the hell out of here. Now.”

“And how do you expect me to achieve that?” Scar replied through gritted teeth. “I don’t have a wand and that is supposing I’m alive enough to actually cast spells!”

“You don’t need a wand or common magic,” Wane said, “because you ‘are’ magic now. Use your new powers, idiot.”

“I don’t know how!”

“I suggest you hurry up and find out, because those guards will be here any minute…” Wane crossed his arms and sent him a faint smile. “Tic tock, Scar.”

Getting up and jumping off the cot, Scar glared at him. “And, by the way, ‘we’? What ‘we’? I’m getting out of here and you can stay where you belong. Give me one good reason why I should bring you along.”

Wane clenched his jaw angrily. “Because,” he said, “those are MY powers that you stole and without me you won’t have a chance of controlling them. This is very different from Barebone’s Obscurus, so he can’t help you either. Do you want to risk turning into a monster?”

Scar hesitated, but then there were some distant shouting and he snapped out of it. “Fine. For now.” He turned to the door, clenching and unclenching his hands. “Okay… Let’s see what I can do…”

-

“Hurry!” Wane hissed, hearing the guards approaching. Minutes had passed and they were still stuck.

“I’m trying!” Scar hissed back, hands outstretched towards the door. “It’s not working!”

“You’re doing it wrong then!” Wane stepped closer, hovering. “Tap into the powers. Break the damn door down!”

“I should have expected that something you created would be this shitty!” Scar snarled, shaking his hands before holding them towards the door again. “I’m telling you; it’s not working!”

“There is nothing wrong with my powers! You’re clearly the problem! If it was me, I’d have that door down ages ago!”

“Shut up.”

“You always thought you were so much better than me, and now you can’t knock down a single door.” Wane leaned closer as he heard one of the guards unlocking the door. “Not so smug now that you know they’ll tear us apart and it’ll be your fault?”

“SHUT UP!” Scar shouted, furious, and a wave of darkness shot out from him; sending the door flying off its hinges and slamming into the two guards outside the room.

For a moment both Scar and Wane merely stared at where the door was lying in the hallway and the unconscious guards half-hidden underneath it, but then Wane raised an eyebrow. “Ok. Not bad.”

Scar rolled his eyes and stepped into the hallway. “Let’s just get out of here before more guards show up.”

Wane followed him. “You know, this would be a lot easier if you would just remove these damn chains.”

“Yeah, no, I don’t think so,” Scar mumbled, carefully making his way down the hallway. “I don’t trust you. Besides, you have no wand, so better to keep the fighting to the professionals.”

“What professionals?” Wane snarled. “You could barely knock down a door and have no idea how you use your powers.”

“Keep talking, Wane, and I’ll change my mind and just leave you behind.”

Wane fell silent. But he did make sure to glare at Scar’s back the entire way.

Against all odds, and much thanks to the confusion after the flickering lights and electrical hiccups, they made it outside the massive building disguised as a hospital. Once outdoors, the two walked away at a brisk but not overly suspicious pace. 

It was only when they were two blocks down and having rounded a building that they dared to exhale and actually look at each other.  
Now what?

-

“Listen,” Scar began, holding up a hand to silence Wane as the other man was about to speak, “this is what is going to happen now. You and I? We’re going our separate ways from here. Like I said; I don’t trust you. Hell, I don’t even like you, Wane, and I’d prefer to spend my second chance at life as far away from you as possible. I let you tag along because I resent the Ministries and for old times’ sake, but from now on you’re on your own, okay?”

Wane’s eyes glittered with something dangerous, but he merely put on a cheerful smile. “Am I happy that you are walking away with my powers? Of course not. But the thought of you as far away from me as possible is worth it.” He lifted his hands up to his chest. “Before you go, mind freeing me of these?”

Scar pursed his lips thoughtfully. “Noo… I don’t think so.” He grinned. “Something tells me I’d be safer with you in them while I make my escape. I have no doubt you’ll get out of them.” He added a wink. “Eventually.”

And with that, the man with eyes as black as his hair sauntered off and left a seething Wane Bathory to stalk in the opposite direction.

Walking down the street, Wane was soon calming down and absently observing how much the world had changed in the twenty years he’d been locked up. He was also dreaming of all the different ways he could murder Scar on a later occasion. 

At first he didn’t really react to the throbbing sensation in his head, but it slowly grew worse and more insistent. And then the moment came where he had to stop and pinch the bridge of his nose as it suddenly felt like his sinuses were about to implode.

The throbbing abruptly turned to the mother of all headaches. In addition, he started to feel dizzy and very cold; as if his very body heat was being drained out of him. Groaning softly, he pressed his palms against his eyes and swayed on his feet. What was going on? What was happening to him?

In the darkness of his closed eyes, Wane had a flash of Scar leaning against a brick wall; barely able to stand and in agony. And just like that; Wane knew he had to find him or they’d both perish. 

Turning around, he stumbled, half-blind, in the direction he knew Scar was. How he knew, he had no idea, but he knew.

As slowly as it had begun, the headache began to ease as he walked and finally he could see a familiar figure stagger his way towards him as well. When Scar came to an unsteady halt in front of him, they both turned their backs to the brick wall they were standing next to and sank down to sit on the pavement, shoulder to shoulder, ignoring the odd looks sent by people walking by them.

For a few moments, they sat in silence and recovered; both feeling drained and severely unsettled. 

Eventually Wane couldn’t help himself and glanced over at the pale and weary Scar. “I’m guessing this means going our separate ways is out of the question?”

Scar could only manage a glare.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tribulations of each other's company continues and worsens!

Wane’s good looks and charm managed to secure them a hotel room for them to recover and decide what to do while hiding from the Aurors probably searching for them.

“I thought you’d stolen my powers,” Wane mused from where he was lying on the bed and staring up at the ceiling, rubbing his finally freed wrists. “But now I think it’s more like how Credence can summon the Obscurus while maintaining his human form. You have the powers, your soul is fused with it, but you are still linked to me. If we get more than a certain distance between us, you start to fall apart and since you are connected to me; I can sense it.”

On the bed by the opposite wall, Scar was curled up and staring sullenly at Wane. “How do we fix it?”

“Lucky for you,” Wane said with a slight grin, “I have a couple of ideas. Believe me; I’d rather not have you around. Although, that means we have to get some ingredients.”

“Of course,” Scar sighed, turning to press his face into the pillow, as if he hoped to suffocate himself and save himself the suffering of Wane’s company.

Getting out of London and hunting for items Wane needed for his potion filled their next three days. In the quiet moments, Scar tried to explore his new powers, but discovered that Wane was right about one thing; he had no idea how they worked. It took almost everything he had just to summon a tiny black flame!

They experimented with how much distance they could put between each other before it turned painful. It varied a little, but they settled on a radius of about 500 meters as a safe zone. They were able to push it further, but that was when the pain set in and at one point; Scar saw his hands turn black and they ached for the rest of the day, even after he’d joined up with Wane again and they regained their original color. His only comfort was that Wane felt like crap as well. But most of the time; they simply tried to keep out of each other’s way.

Scar also discovered that time had done little to enlighten the Ministry on how to treat magical creatures… Bitter disappointment made him vow to fix that as soon as he knew how to use his powers to the fullest.

With Wane and Scar both counting down the days until they were rid of the other, it almost felt like the Grindelwald-days. The major difference being that they were now aiming for their freedom from a fellow wizard and not a revolution to bond wizardkind together.

On day four, Wane could finally start brewing the potion that would hopefully sever the bond between them and Scar was left to pace their current apartment (Scar had decided not to ask Wane how he had acquired it...) until he was done.

“Anybody thirsty?” Wane asked, suddenly stepping into the room and holding a small vial with a purple liquid. He held it up with a proud grin as Scar came closer to inspect it. “This is some powerful stuff, you know. If this doesn’t work on you, nothing will!”

-

“You really think this will undo the bond?” Scar took the vial and didn’t really look forward to swallowing it, knowing only too well what icky things had been required to make it.

“I think it will make sure that I’ll be free of your nagging,” Wane said, waving a hand at him. “Drink!”

Rolling his eyes, Scar drew a deep breath and gulped down the liquid in one swallow. 

As expected, it tasted foul and Scar shuddered hard at the after-taste, while Wane was staring at him expectantly. “Good boy!”

“How long do we have to wait?”

“Oh, I think it should work pretty fast,” Wane said.

Scar was about to give a snide reply when suddenly the floor began to tilt to one side. “Whoa…” He shook his head a little, feeling weird. “I don’t feel too good…”

“Don’t worry,” Wane chirped. “You’ll just go to sleep.”

Scar sneered. “This was never a potion to sever the bond… You just wanted… to neutralize me…”

Shrugging, Wane gave an almost apologetic smile. “What can I say? I want my powers back. And I doubt you’d like most of the ideas I have of how to dig it out of you. Like this, you won’t feel a thing.” 

Stumbling back a step, throwing out a hand against the wall to keep himself from falling, Scar fought in vain against the darkness creeping up on him. “I should have known…”

“Yeah,” Wane agreed cheerfully, “I was actually surprised that you fell for it. You said you didn’t trust me, remember? You should have stuck with that.”

Whatever Scar wanted to reply was lost in a slur and the man slowly sank to his knees, swayed once, before falling over to lie in a graceless heap on the floor.  
Wane crouched down, felt his pulse and was relieved to find it strong and even. Good. He needed him asleep, not dead, to get his powers back.

Ok, time to get to work!

Straightening, Wane turned to open the door so he could carry Scar to his potion room, but froze with his hand outstretched towards the door handle.

Why was the door tilting to one side…?  
Or was it the floor…?

Why was he feeling so weird?

Wane’s eyes widened slightly as he realized just how connected he and Scar actually was. What influenced one would automatically influence the other.

“Aww fuck,” Wane drawled, then promptly crumbled to the floor and was asleep.

-

Slowly making his way out of the darkness, Wane woke up on the floor to find a very much awake Scar crouching next to him and looking at him with a deadpan expression on his face.

Wane cleared his throat, hoping to clear his still muddled mind too, and tried to put on a careful smile. “Before you do anything rash, I’d just like to point out that killing me might kill you as well.”

“That drug backfired on you, huh?” Scar asked in a dry tone.

“Brilliant deduction,” Wane sniped back. He didn’t like his vulnerable position. “So I wouldn’t recommend killing me or other… painful things.”

Sighing, Scar sat down, making himself comfortable on the floor next to him. “Listen, Wane… We can continue like we have been doing; scowling and scheming to backstab the other, but that sounds exhausting and won’t get us what we want. We’re connected so whatever you or I do, it will also affect the other. You just proved that.”

Wane dared to push himself up into a sitting position and eyed the other man warily. “So, what are you suggesting?”

“I suggest you shelve your psycho-behavior for a while and find a way to sever the bond, unless you ‘do’ want us to be locked together until one of us perishes and takes the other with him?”

The very idea of being stuck with the uptight, creature-lover for years upon years made Wane shudder. And if anything he did to Scar hit him as well, Wane suddenly wasn’t all that tempted to try those ideas he had for digging the powers out of the other man. He sighed and rubbed his face. “Fine,” Wane muttered eventually, letting his hands drop into his lap. “On one condition.”

“And what is that?” Scar asked suspiciously.

“That you don’t stop me from doing whatever I want to people, as long as it doesn’t include you.”

“Me, Percival Graves and his crew, and you got a deal.” Scar countered.

Making a face, Wane wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of being refused acquiring some more of Credence Barebone’s blood, but he could always do that later. “Only as long as we’re stuck together. After that, we go our separate ways and I don’t answer to you or anyone.”

Scar considered it and finally nodded. “Deal.” It wasn’t like he cared what Wane did to people, but Graves, Credence and the other two had been the closest Scar had come to friends. Once the bond was broken, he’d just warn them and Wane would be an idiot to challenge them.

“Excellent!” Wane declared happily, only to tense up as Scar got up on his feet and he eyed the hand Scar held out to him like it was a deadly snake. “What… are you doing?”

“Getting you up on your feet, what does it look like?” Scar stated, confused and annoyed. 

“Oh.” Wane grabbed the hand and was pulled up. He brushed off some imaginary dust from his own clothes before giving Scar a charming smile. “Well, I ‘was’ planning on celebrating my freedom once I’d gotten rid of you, but considering how it that’s probably going to take some time; I will just have to celebrate with you here.”

“Celebrate your freedom?” Scar couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. “Are you serious? What about severing the bond?”

“Yes, yes, that too.” Wane waved him off. “Remember; what’s meant to be will find a way!”

Scar sighed with the patience of a suffering saint. “And we’re back to the quoting again…”

-

They actually spent the rest of that day recovering from the drug, but by the next day Wane was back to his busy self. Scar kept mostly to his room, leaving the man to his potions and plotting.

Lying on the bed, holding a hand up towards the ceiling and studying it, Scar wondered not for the first time what would happen once they severed the bond. While freedom from Wane certainly was worth any risk, he couldn’t forget about the minor detail that he had no guarantee that the Obscurus-power wouldn’t just dissolve once it lost its original anchor.  
What would happen to him then? Death? Limbo? Would he merely remain as a powerless muggle?

Lowering his hand and turning over on his side, Scar frowned. He didn’t remember all that much from what had happened back in 1945. He remembered the war, he remembered creatures he’d raised screaming and dying, but he didn’t remember getting hit himself. It was as if he’d blinked on the battlefield and finding himself in an odd room with Wane when he opened his eyes again.

Wane had been of little help, merely pointing out that Scar had died during the war, and kept repeating it, so once he was certain there were no more answers to be had and he nowhere else to go; he decided to haunt Wane. Wasn’t that what ghosts did? And then this happened…

His chain of thought was then interrupted by music, loud music, and Scar glared towards the door of his room. Wane had warned him he intended to conduct his ‘celebration’ that evening and while Scar had refused to join him in a hunt for ladies at some bar, their bond forced Scar to stay within the apartment as Wane had his little party in the living room instead. The sound of a female voice revealed that the man had found someone willing to tolerate his company, but Scar really, really did not want to know more.

He tried to gather his thoughts again, he had so many questions, but as time passed; Scar realized he was getting uncomfortably warm.

At first he thought the heater in the room had been switched on by a mistake, but when he sat up to go over and check; he felt a little dizzy. Frowning, he lifted his hands to his face and felt the heat there. Flushed face, unbalanced and sluggish thinking…

Scar cursed and flopped down on the bed again. Of course; Wane was drinking! And the bond made Scar feel intoxicated as well. Great. Bloody great. He closed his eyes and hoped he’d be able to fall asleep. And if he woke up with a hangover; he would just have to come up with a horrible revenge.

His wish was almost granted. Scar was drowsing, more or less asleep, when a different kind of heat began seeping into him. Squirming restlessly, he wondered how much Wane could drink before he passed out, only to realize that this brand of heat had nothing to do with alcohol. 

-

Scar’s eyes opened wide. Oh no… Wane was… 

To his horror, Scar was hardening under phantom touches and phantom kisses and he tried to curl up on his side, closing his eyes hard, to block out the feelings. In vain. It didn’t take too long before he rolled over on his back again, breathing faster and splaying his legs a little to ease some of the pressure on his achingly hard cock. 

The humiliation was complete when his back arched and he failed to hold back a quiet moan as a particularly intense wave of pleasure rushed through him. He couldn’t stop his hips from making an answering twitch in order to save his life. 

And it didn’t stop. It became wave after wave of pleasure after that; drawing out unwilling sounds and movements from him. He felt himself getting drawn further and further into the lust.  
Once the bond was severed, Scar was going to kill Wane. Then he was going to find his ghost, resurrect him and kill him again.

Scar clenched and unclenched his hand, his body aching for a physical touch in addition to the phantom ones, but he was not going to succumb to the temptation. He refused. As long as Wane was involved, there was no way he was going to…

Pushing his shoulders his back and digging his heels into the mattress, Scar gasped for air as he felt the sensations accumulating to build towards a climax. His hips moved without conscious thought, though he subconsciously knew they matched Wane’s movements, and primal need drowned out Scar’s resentment of the situation for the moment. 

He flung one arm over his eyes, drowning out his surroundings and focusing on the sensations alone. 

Oh, Morgana, he was so close now… So close…

Sharp, sweet pleasure shot through Scar, Wane’s delightful orgasm, yet his own body shuddered in agonized despair as it needed something, a caress, anything, to follow…

Scar slammed both hands down on the mattress, breathing hard, and wavered in his determination in not touching himself. It was so tempting… And who could blame him? He was hard and aching and desperate and it wasn’t his fault! It would take so little… Just a simple touch…

Rolling over on his side, grabbing a frustrated hold on his pillow, Scar exhaled through gritted teeth. 

No. He wouldn’t let Wane manipulate him into this. Scar refused to dance to his pipe! The ache would go away, eventually, and he would be able to look the man in the eyes the next day. 

Scar was right about one thing; it did go away. But it took a long and VERY frustrating time. And as a consequence, he met the next day with a furious scowl.

Luckily the woman was gone, but Wane was disgustingly cheerful as Scar shuffled into the living room. He was expecting Bathory to come with some lewd remark or some comment on whether or not Scar had enjoyed the show, but no such thing happened.

To his surprise, Scar realized by Wane’s behavior that the man had clearly no idea what had happened! He had no clue that his sensations had bled over to Scar or how strongly it had influenced him. There was just no way the man wouldn’t have mentioned it or gloated in some way if he knew.

“Something wrong?” Wane asked, picking up some empty bottles of alcohol from the night before. “You’re looking even crankier than usual, which is saying something!”

Scar swallowed hard and shook his head. “Nothing wrong. Nothing at all.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wane wants to party.  
> Scar just wants to be left alone.

Wane somewhat reluctantly began making plans that didn’t include Scar’s dissection and even included him in some plotting to acquire two ingredients. He was particularly interested in getting his hands on a magical mirror that managed to separate a soul from their magic. Unfortunately that particular item was owned by one of the higher ranking Aurors in London…

“I suggest we gather the other stuff, leaving that one for last,” Wane said, stretching. They had been crouched over books and maps for several hours by then. “If all things go according to plan, we should be rid of each other by a week or so!”

Scar nodded, still tense and unsettled from the previous night. 

“Despite your charming company,” Wane drawled, getting up, “I feel we should go out tonight. Enjoy life a little. We’ll start gathering the first items tomorrow. Remember, with the new day comes new strength and new thoughts!”

Going from tense to annoyed, Scar glared up at him. “No.”

Puzzled, Wane hesitated a little while trying to decide what the ‘no’ meant. “You… don’t want to get items tomorrow?”

Scar got up as well. “We’re not going out.”

Wane scoffed. “Uh, yes, we are.”

“No.” There was absolutely no way that Scar would go anywhere with Wane. He was tired, dammit! And he’d never enjoyed crowded and loud places. Merlin, how he missed being in the stables with his creatures…

“What’s wrong with you?” Wane snapped. “You’ve been sulking all day.”

“I’m tired.” Scar made sure not to meet his eyes. “Your damn music kept me up-” He cleared his throat. “-kept me awake all night!”

For a moment it looked like Wane would start a fight, but then Scar could see him reigning in his temper and putting on his pretty face.

“Listen,” Wane sighed, moving closer and giving him the puppy eyes, “if we’re going to get along for the next week, we need to get some facts straight. Facts like how I’ve been locked up for twenty damn years and I want to mingle with people not me or you. Especially not you.” His face was soft, but there was an undercurrent to his voice that was anything but. 

Scar tilted his head slightly, awfully tempted to simply refuse and savor the fury it was bound to unleash from Wane, but he ‘was’ tired and knew the man would just continue to whine. “What’s in it for me?”

“Ugh,” Wane squirmed a little. “Fine. We go out tonight, we stay home tomorrow. Ok, you weird hermit?”

“Deal.”

-

And that is how Scar found himself at a dark and extremely crowded nightclub and hating every second of it. He’d never been fond of people, but even less so of drunk and clingy people. Despite how his entire being radiated hostility, people would still come up to him and try to make friends. 

Wane, however, was in his perfect element. Smiling and charming everyone, he basked in their obvious admiring of his good looks. It made Scar worry that he’d end up eye-rolling so bad at the stupid man that his eyes might actually roll out of his head.

He had spent an uncomfortable amount of time in a dark corner when he decided to secure a seat by the end of the bar. There Scar ordered three tequila shots. He was on his second shot when he saw Wane in deep conversation with some guy at the other end of the bar, which ended in the two sauntering off towards the toilets.

Instantly suspicious, Scar watched them go with an uneasy feeling. If Wane decided to do some drugs or drain the guy for blood, Scar would physically kill him, his own fate be damned. He was too tired for that kind of idiocy! Downing his third shot and putting the glass on the counter, Scar went from slouching grumpily to sitting up straight with a startled look within two minutes.

A frightfully familiar heat was starting to coil in his belly and it was happening fast!

Grasping a hold of the bar-counter with one hand, taking a couple of deep breaths, Scar could not believe this was happening. Did Wane have no shame? Did he really have that man bring him to some floozy? 

There was the sensation of a touch enticing him further into lust…

Closing his eyes hard, Scar shivered when he felt a phantom wet heat and had to bite his lower lip to keep from making a sound. Not that anyone would have heard or noticed amidst the loud music, but he feared that if he started; he wouldn’t be able to stop.

Like the previous night, the horrible pleasure just kept building and Scar eventually got up on wobbly feet and made his way, rather unsteadily, towards the darkest corner of the club. Once there, he leaned his back against the wall and tried to will the feelings away. Once again, in vain.

Wane’s release was sweet agony, mostly because his own unsatisfied body was now wound up tighter than Percival Graves and howling with frustration, but Scar refused to give in. They were in a public place, for Merlin’s sake!

His own mental ramblings were eventually interrupted when the door to the toilets opened and the guy Wane had left with came walking out, wiping the back of his hand over his smiling mouth. Wane followed shortly after, looking sated and flustered and smug beyond words.  
Scar blinked. Oh. So, Wane had… with a guy. Well, it made sense that the man wouldn’t be satisfied with only half of the population worshipping him. Of course he had to include men as well, be it wizards or muggles.

He started slightly when Wane noticed him and came over with a wide grin; “Hey!” There was a meaningful and mocking look at the dark and desolate corner Scar was hiding in. “Cozy. Enjoying yourself, I see?”

Thanking Merlin, Morgana and whomever was listening that the darkness was hiding his flustered skin and awkward state of arousal, Scar managed to send him a cold glare. “Having the time of my life. Can we go now?”

“Are you crazy?” Wane laughed. “It’s time for more drinks!”

As Wane headed for the bar, Scar exhaled a heart-felt sigh. What had he done to deserve this?

-

Scar had always been one uptight bastard, but damn if death hadn’t made him an even bigger killjoy! Wane would never understand that guy even if they ended up spending eternity together! (Perish the thought!)  
He woke the next day, rested and still filled with endorphins from his little meeting with Max (At least, that’s what Wane believed he said his name was?) at the nightclub, ready to do some honest stealing of ingredients, but His Highness Scar appeared with a grumpy look and an even crappier attitude. It was pretty obvious that they needed to sever this bond as fast as possible or Wane could risk ending up as a sourpuss as well!

Luckily, the prospect of losing the Obscurus-powers to Scar bothered him less and less. The guy couldn’t even use his powers beyond summoning some flickers of black smoke. Pathetic.

It was pretty obvious that the results of his first attempt had given Wane an Obscurus inferior to Credence Barebone’s powers and that wouldn’t do. He would just have to leave Scar with the second-rate powers and acquire better ones from a new supply from Credence!

After they actually managed to get their hands on the first ingredients Wane needed to make what would hopefully separate them, they had to move on to the neighboring city to get the next items on the list. They traveled more or less in silence (What in Morgana’s name was Scar’s problem? The guy was always quiet, but now he wouldn’t even look at him!) and Wane was happy when he met the lovely landlady he could use his charms on; where they would be appreciated!

So, yeah, he’d promised Scar they’d stay in that night, but it wasn’t all bad. While he’d rather die a thousand deaths than admit it to that jerk, Wane didn’t mind having one quiet evening and merely tinker with his beloved potions. After all, it wasn’t just the potion to separate the bond he was working on!

“You know that is both disgusting and weird, right?” Scar asked, crouching on top of a railing while Wane was injecting a syringe into the arm of a wizard; the unconscious owner of the Phoenix feather they’d just stolen.

“Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn,” Wane shot back, filling up his small vial with blood. He withdrew the needle, straightened and secured his prize in the inner pocket of his jacket. “Ok, we got what we need. Let’s get out of here.”

They had just rounded the building and entered the alley between it and the next when their luck ran out. Five Aurors apparated to surround them and kept their wands aimed at their prey.  
“Wane Bathory,” one of them called out, “surrender or we will attack.”

Sneering, Wane clenched and unclenched his hands. He hadn’t really prioritized getting a wand and he was regretting the decision bitterly at that moment. “All of you for little me? I’m honored.” He noted how no one was really paying attention to Scar. Clearly they had no idea who he was. “But if you intend to drag me back to that cage, I’m afraid I will have to decline.”

“I have to admit, I was kind of hoping you’d put up a fight,” the Auror said with a cold smile.

Wane managed to dodge the first two spells, but the third one hit him, and the fourth and so on, and Merlin; he’d forgotten how much that could hurt!

-

Scar stumbled backwards once the spells were unleashed and stared wide-eyed as Wane darted away from him, dodging the first spells, but the Aurors were just too fast and too many for him to escape without magic.

Flinching as Wane cried out in pain, Scar watched as the Auror closed in on the now fallen man and kept hitting him with spells. He watched as the Aurors laughed amongst themselves, secure in their superiority to the defenseless Wane Bathory and not even glancing in Scar’s direction.  
Maybe they thought he was just one more admirer Wane had picked up along the way?

The echo of Wane’s pain ripped through Scar for every hit he took. And, okay, Wane might be a complete bastard who deserved to hurt, but those guys were no better. They were hurting him, really hurting him, just for fun. This was exactly why Scar had sided against the Ministry! 

Their arrogance led to them failing to see Scar as a threat while they acted like the people who had tormented Scar in his youth or mistreated the defenseless magical creatures he’d sworn to protect. It was a mistake which would cost them dearly.

Acting on instinct, fueled by rage, Scar rushed towards them and he abruptly dissolved into a flood of darkness. He became powerful and fearless; a creature of death. The Aurors had just enough time to turn around and realize their mistake before his fury came slamming down on them. 

It was like a tidal wave swatting away ants; sending them flying left and right. The Obscurus snapped furiously at the one who had been standing further away than the others and who tried to make a run for it, chasing him with deadly intent. The Auror only made it four steps before he was slammed into the brick-wall with enough force to shatter the bricks.

Another Auror got back up on her feet, unstable and confused, but the Obscurus raced towards her and jerked her high into the air by a painful grip on her ankle; flinging her away like an unwanted toy. The rest of them stayed down…

Howling with fury and the need to keep destroying, the Obscurus lifted itself to its full height of close to ten meters before sinking down to the ground again and sliding towards Wane. Circling him, it watched as Wane groaned softly and tried to push himself up from the asphalt and failing. 

Driven by instinct once more, the Obscurus came to a halt and slowly materialized into Scar again. He lifted his hands to stare at them, he couldn’t believe what he’d just one or that he’d managed to become human again, but he quickly snapped out of it and leaned down to help Wane up on his feet.

“Regis…?”

Scar froze. That voice… It couldn’t be…! He slowly turned to face the person who had spoken and it felt like a fist to his stomach when he saw the shocked face of Leona Silvestri. Please, Merlin, no…

She had aged, but she was still beautiful; her golden hair and brown eyes as remarkable as ever. And now she was looking at him with shock and disbelief. “Regis, is that really you?”

Hesitating, Scar eventually straightened and sighed. “I don’t know.”

-

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Leona asked, still keeping her distance, still keeping a firm grip on her wand, even if her eyes were filled with agonized hope. Wise move. 

“I’m told I died twenty years ago.”

“I watched you die.” Leona tightened her grip on her wand. “We buried you.”

Nodding, Scar had trouble meeting her gaze. “Yeah, well, I don’t remember. I do remember the war, but it’s like I blinked and woke up in Wane’s prison.”

That made Leona frown and glanced briefly over at Wane, who had managed to push himself up into a somewhat sitting position and gave her a weak wave, before focusing fully on Scar again. “He brought you back?”

“I don’t know.” Scar said. “I don’t know if I’m… me, really me, or just something made out of a collection of Wane’s memory of me and the manipulations of his Obscurus-powers. Something happened, Wane somehow brought me back or created a copy of me, we don’t know.”

“Do you remember me?” Leona asked quietly. “Do you remember… us?”

Scar nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

“Then you’re real.” It was a softly stated fact, filled with regret and sad certainty. Leona shook her head a little. “I thought you were gone…”

“I am gone,” Scar insisted gently. “I’m still not going back to the Ministry, Leona. No matter what I am, I know that. I haven’t changed my mind about that. I won’t change my mind about that.” He wanted to say he was sorry, but he wasn’t. He was sorry for hurting her, again, but that was it.

Leona nodded this time, sad but not surprised. “And I can’t let you go now. You know that, right?”

Scar wasn’t surprised either. Leona Silvestri was the best hunter the Ministry had because she was damn good at her job and she didn’t let her prey escape without a fight. The only trouble was that Scar refused to fight her. An unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.

Before either of them could do anything, there was movement behind Leona and Scar was shocked to see Wane reach around, placing one arm around her to lock her arms down, while his other hand placed a cloth over her nose and mouth. She only struggled for a couple of seconds before going limp.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Scar exclaimed, black smoke instantly rising from his skin. 

“Oh relax,” Wane replied in a dismissive voice as he lowered Leona to the ground. “It’s harmless. She’s just going to sleep for a little while.” He glanced up at him. “Or did you want to fight her?”

“No…” Scar mumbled. “No, I…”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Wane straightened and stepped over Leona to move closer to Scar with a fascinated look on his face. “You tricked me! I thought you couldn’t use the powers!”

“I didn’t trick you. I didn’t know how to… I just,” he scrambled for the right word, “reacted.”

“Interesting.” Wane stared at him a little longer before snapping his fingers to gain Scar’s attention. “Anyway, we better get out of here before reinforcements arrive. Unless you let me kill her, our secret will soon be out and they aren’t going to be too happy about another Obscurus roaming free. But, hey, the secret to happiness is freedom and the secret to freedom is courage! We’re going to have to run and hide for real now, sunshine.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scar's secret is out and a surprising fact is revealed...

They rushed back to the apartment and fetched their few belongings before making a hasty exit from the city. On the train, Wane slept like an innocent child, while Scar stared out the window; lost in thoughts and worries.

Two days and one new apartment later, Scar still couldn’t shake the meeting with Leona. He’d started writing her a letter, trying to explain, but ended up throwing away at least six different versions. He just didn’t find the right words! He wanted to apologize for hurting her, for putting her in that difficult situation and that he didn’t blame her for doing her job, but the words just wouldn’t appear to him. It just sounded contrived.

Wane had been keeping a low profile during these days. Since Scar had tapped into his Obscurus-powers, Wane had been watching him with calculated curiosity and quiet wariness, but of course the blissful silence couldn’t last.

“It’s been two days and no one has tried to kill us,” Wane said. ”Let’s go out tonight.”

Scar didn’t even look up from his blank piece of paper. “No.” He was most definitely NOT in the mood to suffer more of Wane’s liaisons. He’d never been this tense throughout his entire life. His dreams were riddled with subconscious complaints about having had no release yet and every morning, well, it was almost like being a damn teenager again!

“Come on!” Wane got up on his feet and walked over to lean over the front of the table where Scar sitting and was trying to write his letter. “I’m bored.” Wane reached out and took a hold of the area between Scar’s neck and shoulder; giving it a teasing squeeze. 

It made a jolt of heat shoot through Scar’s stomach and he jumped to his feet, slapping the hand away. “Forget it!”

Instantly going from persuasive to angry, Wane sat down on the table and glared at him. “Why not?”

“Because I’m not into going to places I hate just so you can get a damn blowjob in the men’s room!” Scar snapped, crossing his arms defensively and ordering his body to calm down.

Blinking surprised by the words, Wane got a confused look. “How did you…” But then a dawning realization hit him; from how grumpy Scar had been lately to his reaction to Wane’s touch. Getting up on his feet, Wane lost the battle to a growing smile of evil glee on his face. “You can feel it, can’t you? You can actually ‘feel’ it?” He exhaled laugh. “Are you telling me you’ve felt it every time?”

Scar clenched his jaw hard, glaring.

Actually laughing, Wane stepped closer. “Jealous? Come on, you should be grateful that you can at least experience it through me! I’m guessing you don’t get much, with your less than charming personality.”

“Shut up.” Scar snarled, pushing a hand hard at Wane’s chest, making him take a step backwards and bump into the chair he’d recently been occupying. When he pushed him a second time, Wane was forced to sit down on the chair or fall over, but he was still smirking and it was infuriating. Scar was going to wipe that smile off his face!

-

Grabbing a hold of Wane’s face with his right hand, his fingers digging in by his jawline, Scar stared straight into his eyes and summoned every unsatisfied craving in his body. He allowed himself to remember every phantom touch, kiss and sensation. The growing heat. The want. He vividly pictured waking up hard and desperate and humming with need.

It didn’t take long before Wane’s smirk wavered. His eyes widened slightly and his pupils dilated as lust began to build. “Oh,” he breathed, mesmerized and increasingly turned on.

Scar felt a flicker of triumph amidst the thumping desire when Wane leaned forward, in search of more, and he shoved him back by the grip on his jaw. “No.”

“Yes.” Wane countered, not fighting the grip, but he reached out and took a hold of Scar’s hips and urged him closer. His eyes were almost as dark as Scar’s as they were mostly pupils by now and hazy with desire.

Placing one knee on the chair, next to Wane’s hip, he leaned forward to hover over him and Scar smiled. It was not a nice smile. “Say please.”

Annoyance flared up and Wane’s eyes narrowed a fraction as he tried to regain a little control. “Why, when I can feel how much you want this too?”

Scar’s cruel smile widened and he moved his thumb up to slide it across Wane’s pouty lips. “Because I will walk out of the room and leave you like this. You know I will. And you also know that it’s me you want, not some random person, because they can’t make you feel this.”  
It was true. Once Scar allowed his own desire to run free and Wane’s grew to meet and intertwine with it, it became twice as intense and he knew Wane would never be able to resist it.

“I really don’t like you.” Wane said, swallowing hard.

“I don’t care.” Scar replied. “Now, say please.”

Wane tugged slightly at his hips, but Scar didn’t move; merely stared at him with those black eyes and kept radiating heat. He could see when Wane decided to give in; when he managed to summon his pretty face and puppy eyes and then spoke in a husky whisper; “Please.”

“Good boy, “ Scar acknowledged with satisfaction. And because he always rewarded the creatures he trained for good behavior, he moved up to straddle Wane. 

The contact made Wane shudder, his fingers tightening their grip on Scar’s hips to the point of being painful and once again urging him to move. While this was meant as getting back at Wane, there was no denying how Scar felt his own body reacting with desperate hunger. He rolled his hips against the other man while placing his hands on Wane’s shoulders to prevent himself from get too close and intimate to his body.  
At the movement, they both let out moans neither would admit to making, but the feeling was too overwhelming to resist. Their own desire was bad enough, but as they were feeding off each other’s feelings as well that made it three times as powerful.

-

“I can’t believe…” Wane managed in a breathless voice, with his eyes closed and his body moving restlessly, “that you didn’t… say anything…”

“Shut up,” Scar growled, grinding down hard.

That made Wane gasp and tug harshly at Scar’s hips to make him do it again. But it didn’t shut him up for long.

“We… We could have, oh Merlin, been doing this… for days… you idiot.”

“I said,” Scar growled, “shut up.” He increased the pace a little, allowing the desire to start building, too impatient to wait any longer. His long denied release was beckoning…

Breathing hard and meeting his movements, placing on hand on Scar’s lower back to push him even tighter against himself and finding no objection, Wane still couldn’t stop rambling. “The nightclub… Was that why you… you were hiding in that corner? It was, wasn’t it?”

“Stop. Talking.” Scar ordered. Instinctively, he did the one thing he knew would shut Wane up. He grabbed a firm hold of a handful of curls, yanked Wane’s head back and covered his mouth with his.

For one glorious moment, it worked. It silenced Wane to perfection, but then he made this broken whimper and opened his mouth and the kiss deepened and everything became a haze of desperate urgency. Whatever faults Wane had; he certainly knew how to kiss.  
Scar wasn’t even aware of how he suddenly plastered himself against the other man, Wane’s arms going around him, his hands pawing restlessly at his back, and there wasn’t even room for a Phoenix feather between them.

After that, it didn’t take long. Scar was too wound up, Wane too overwhelmed and they were both too eager. 

Sweet release rushed out of Scar, making him smother gasps into Wane’s mouth, but just as the intense pleasure was easing away; he was suddenly hit by the sensation of another and he felt Wane shudder apart under him. It was good, so very good, but almost too much! 

And judging by the sounds coming from Wane, he felt the same.

The intensity of it all threatened to break Scar’s brain, but eventually it did taper off and he merely sank down to rest his forehead to Wane’s shoulder and pant for air. Wane, also panting softly, seemed content to tilt his head slightly to rest against his and let his hands linger on Scar’s lower back; fingertips touching the skin where his shirt had ridden up from the lining of his pants.

Sweet silence did of course not last for long. Not when Wane knew that was what Scar craved.

“Okay…” Wane said in a dreamy sigh, “we don’t have to go out tonight.”

Scar snorted a laugh against his shoulder.

“But you do realize we have to do some extensive research on this?”

-

Pushing himself away with a resigned huff, Scar aimed to make his escape. He was NOT listening to this! However, Wane’s arms tightened around him, preventing him from getting off his lap, so Scar sent him a flat glare. “There is something seriously wrong with your priorities, Wane.”

Grinning, Wane shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know about that. I think I’m fairly good at focusing on the important stuff.”

“What is important,” Scar countered, settling in the embrace because he couldn’t be bothered to break free yet, “is what we’re going to do next.”

“I just told you.”

Scar rolled his eyes. It was becoming a thing he did at least twenty times a day when exposed to Wane. He forced himself to focus on the idiot again. “The Ministry knows. You said so yourself; they’re going to come after us hard. We need to reconsider our plan. Maybe we could get help?”

Wane scoffed. “Help? From whom? Credence Barebone? Hah. He and Percival Graves would kill me on sight, and you by default. And that is assuming we can find them!”

Scar cleared his throat, deciding not to mention how he could feel Credence’s Obscurus if he focused. “No, I… I’d rather not involve them. They are already on the run and don’t need the Ministry finding them because of us.” He frowned a little. “You’re originally from Hungary, aren’t you? The Bathory clan is quite famous. Would your family help us?”

It was fascinating and unsettling to the bone to see Wane’s facial expression go completely blank. “They would most certainly hide us from the Ministries, as they would love to get their hands on the Obscurus powers, but it wouldn’t be very pleasant for us, I imagine.” His voice was as devoid of feeling as his face. “Improving the family bloodline always comes before the individual. That’s why we’re still around while other family lines are long gone. I wouldn’t recommend asking them.”

Scar had not expected this kind of answer and found himself momentarily lost for words. Of course he’d heard the tales about the infamous Bathory clan, of their obsession with blood and their unnatural long lives, and it explained perfectly why Wane was such a weirdo. But Scar had not expected that they’d turn on their own. 

Seeing how Wane had shut down completely, Scar felt strangely guilty for even mentioning his family and had the craziest urge to apologize with a gentle touch to his face. He was never good with words.

As if he could sense what Scar was thinking, Wane lifted his eyebrows and sent him a challenging stare. “What about your father? Are you sure he won’t help his son?”

“Hector would turn me in before I’d have the chance to explain,” Scar replied, unable to prevent the bitterness from seeping into his voice. “He wouldn’t want to risk tainting his name in the Ministry. He made it pretty clear that I wasn’t welcome back once I joined Grindelwald. And I’d rather have Aurors dissecting me than ask for his help.”

Wane gave a faint smile, nodding as if he understood and maybe he did, but he then glanced away and Scar was hit with a weird realization.

“So I guess we do have something in common, after all,” Scar said. He managed a faint smile of his own at the absurdity of it. “Who would have thought?”

“Yeah,” Wane replied, “we’re both on our own.” He pushed lightly at Scar, making him get up on his feet and he then left the room without another word.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A break-in goes wrong and Scar nearly has a break-down

Firmly pushing every thought of contacting his family out of his head, Wane decided to focus on the delightful surprise that Scar had revealed and the possibilities it brought with it.  
He hadn’t finished in his pants since he was about fifteen! As unforeseen side effects went, this was the coolest one yet of all of Wane’s experiments! So he told himself that it was due to his planning how to explore this to the fullest, along with his potion making, that he avoided Scar for the rest of the evening. 

The next morning he sauntered into the kitchen. Scar was already there, reading some book and drinking coffee. He didn’t really look up when Wane entered the room, merely gestured to the kitchen counter. “I made some rolls. Help yourself.”

Glancing over and finding a small pile of freshly baked rolls, Wane frowned suspiciously and kept looking back and forth between the rolls and Scar. “Why? What did you do to them?”

That actually made Scar lift his gaze up from his book. “What?” He asked, and had the nerve to look at Wane like _he_ was the weird one.

Wane scoffed. “The rolls. What’s in them? You know you’ll feel the effect too, right? I thought we agreed on no more tricks?”

Scar didn’t speak for a little while, looking like he needed time to process what Wane had said for some reason, and then he leaned back in his chair with a resigned sigh and a shake of his head. “I haven’t done anything to the rolls, Wane.”

Not believing him for a single second, Wane nodded. “Sure. Yeah. Then why offer them to me?”

Once again Scar hesitated before answering, had the previous day caused a permanent lag in the man’s reaction time? But then he leaned forward again and held Wane’s gaze with a sincere expression on his face. “I’m fairly certain there are people you can talk to about your trust issues… Because you need help. Really.”

“Ha-ha, very funny.” Wane was utterly not amused.

Scar smiled a little, leaning back again. “Relax.” He waved a hand towards the rolls. “I wanted rolls for breakfast so I made enough for the both of us, is that so hard to understand?”

“Ok,” Wane picked up one roll, sniffing it and finding no scent that warned him of poisons, “So what do you want in return?”

“For the love of…” Scar got up, grabbed his book and coffee cup. “Nothing, okay? I want nothing in return. There are the rolls, eat them or don’t, I don’t care.” 

Wane stepped aside and let Scar stomp out of the room before he returned to the sniffing of the rolls and trying to decide whether to risk tasting it or not. In the end, he decided that whatever Scar had put in them was nowhere near as frightful as the things Wane could conjure up as revenge, and so he took a dainty bite and waited for something to happen.

When time passed and nothing bad had happened to him, Wane dared a second bite. They were pretty good actually… He took a third bite and decided that he was probably beyond hope by now if they really were poisoned in some way so he decided to grab two more rolls and have himself a proper breakfast, as it might be his last!

-

After breakfast, they had decided to head out to the fringe of the city and break into a shop to get their hands on a rare flower Wane needed for the potion. Once inside, they had managed to find their way to the secret office of the shop keeper, and while Scar had been keeping an eye out for trouble; Wane had gone in to fetch their prize. When Bathory had suddenly called out his name, it was done so quietly that Scar had barely heard it. Frowning, he’d abandoned his look-out post and headed into the office as well. The sight that met him there left Scar frozen in the doorway.

Wane had a small see-through package in his left hand and Scar could spot the flower they needed inside it, but the cause for concern was the massive animal circling Wane; a fully grown Chimera. The legendary beast with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a dragon. Its ferocity had left it labeled as an extremely dangerous beast and Scar knew there had only been one instance of a wizard fighting a Chimera and managed to kill it. (Though, the victory was short-lived as the wizard died of exhaustion afterwards…)

“Don’t. Move.” Scar grit out the order, hands lifted halfway as if to placate the situation and freeze Wane in his current position at the same time.

“Damn, and here I was planning on doing the cha-cha,” Wane drawled, not moving and not taking his eyes off the growling Chimera. “Get this… _thing_ away from me.”

“It’s a Chimera,” Scar informed absently, studying its body-language and deciding on how to approach. “Move and it will attack. Keep still, whatever happens, keep still. This girl is far stronger than the two of us combined.” He made sure to keep his voice soft and unthreatening.

“I know what it is!” Wane hissed, tense and increasingly worried. “Get it away…!”

“Quiet.” Scar ordered, taking a step forward. No reaction from the Chimera, which was keeping its focus on Wane, still growling softly. He continued moving forward, slowly, until the creature eventually turned its head in his direction. “Just listen, okay? I need you to think happy thoughts, Wane.” The growling from the Chimera’s throat began to quiet down as it stared at the newcomer.

“What?!”

Scar could feel the fear pulsating through Wane and it was horribly distracting, not to mention dangerous as Chimeras would attack if they smelled weakness. Like most predators they hesitated if they believed their opponent could injure them, injury meant eventual death in the wild, and right now she could sense the unnatural Obscurus, but if this creature caught on to Wane’s fear… 

“I need you calm and focused,” Scar informed, keeping a steady eye-contact with the quiet Chimera. “If she realizes that she can kill us both without trouble, we’re dead. So, I need you to pretend you’re every bit as dangerous as she is.” He kept moving closer, noting with dread and satisfaction that the Chimera had locked on to him now, allowing Scar to inch his way between it and Wane. 

It was a little surprising to feel Wane’s fingers grabbing a frantic hold the back of his shirt where it met the lining of his pants. Scar couldn’t quite decide whether Wane did it to anchor himself and stay calm, or merely to use Scar as a meat-shield against the Chimera… Probably both.

“Ready?” Scar asked him. “We’re going to back out of here, nice and slow, no sudden movements or loud sounds. Stay behind me.”

“Sure. Whatever. If it eats you, lodge yourself in its throat and give me chance to run.” Wane ground out between clenched teeth, clearly uncomfortable but doing an admirably good job at hiding it. If not for the Obscurus-bond, Scar would have thought the guy was just being obnoxious as usual. 

“Let’s go,” Scar said, reaching back and placing a hand on Wane’s hip to guide him when to walk and where. He added a little pressure and Wane took a careful step back, Scar soon followed.

The Chimera watched with quiet consideration as they began to make their way towards the exit. It never took its eyes off Scar…

-

They made it outside and once Wane was fairly certain the monster wouldn’t chase after them, he released his grip on Scar as if the man had burned him. Scoffing and huffing, Wane took a step away from him for good measure as well and glared back at the seemingly abandoned shop. “I thought those creatures were illegal?”

“They are,” Scar replied, as calm and unfazed as always. He even gave a smile that looked like relief. “But she appears to be in good shape and well looked after, so I think she’ll be alright.”

Wane was fairly certain he was close to spraining his neck as he swung his head around to stare at the clearly insane man. That ugly beast nearly ate him! “ _She_ ’ll be alright?!”

Scar shrugged. “She didn’t do anything wrong. She was merely protecting her lair.” A hint of bitterness came to his black eyes. “Aurors always want to kill whatever cannot be tamed and exploited.” He glanced over at Wane as well and his eyes softened slightly for some reason...

Wane suddenly realized Scar could feel his fear through the Obscurus and forced the feeling away. He then glared fiercely at him and silently dared Scar to mention it. To Wane’s increasing frustration, Scar merely broke eye contact with a faint smile and petted his shoulder.

“Come, Mr. Vampire, we got our prize and survived a Chimera. Not bad, if I say so myself. Actually, I also say we’ve earned the right to celebrate a little!”

Now that caught Wane’s attention. The Chimera was long forgotten as he stalked after the other man and sent him a curious look. “Are you saying we’re going out?”

Scar scoffed. “Merlin, no!” 

“Hope rises like a phoenix from the ashes of shattered dreams.” Wane sighed. Of course he shouldn’t have hoped that Scar would want to behave like a normal wizard, why hadn’t he learned his lesson by now? And if not going out, what did he mean by ‘celebrating’? Wane was almost afraid to ask…

What followed was a tour of different food markets, both wizarding and muggles alike, before they set course back to the apartment and Scar declared he was going to show what Wane was missing out on with his creepy diet of blood and the souls of the innocent. 

Amused against his will, Wane decided to mix up a fun potion. That way, he contributed to this supposedly divine meal and Scar couldn’t take all the credit. The food was probably going to taste horrible anyway, considering how Scar had no idea how to enjoy life! Right?

Wrong.

-

It was no easy thing to admit, but there was no denying that the food tasted really, really good! Wane tried to give a couple of reserved compliments, but the smug smirk on Scar’s face told him the other man could feel his true delighted response. Dammit, he was starting to violently hate this connection of theirs!

Getting a couple of fancy glasses, Wane put them on the table and filled them with his potion. “Here,” he handed one glass to Scar, “try this.”

Eyeing the liquid with no small amount of suspicion, Scar sniffed it cautiously. “What is it? The last thing I drank something you gave me, I was out cold for hours.”

Wane grinned. “Ah, good times.” He threw in a wink before managing to turn somewhat serious again. “Don’t worry, I can’t poison you, remember? This is just for fun.”

“Fun?” Scar drawled, even more suspicious, if possible.

Resigned, Wane sighed. “Yes. Fun! I am aware that you have only a faint inkling about what means, but come on! I ate your food, twice, how about you show me some trust here?”

“Trust is not the word I’d associate with you,” Scar mumbled. He sniffed the liquid once more before taking a dainty sip. A sweet taste spread in his mouth and it made him raise his eyebrows in a surprised but pleased expression. He took another, proper, sip. “Not bad. What is it?”

“I told you,” Wane replied, replacing the phantom taste on his tongue with the real deal as he took a big gulp of his own glass, “fun!” There was no point in explaining how it basically worked like alcohol; lowering or removing inhibitions, just much faster. Scar needed to loosen up more than he needed oxygen. Really!

As hours passed, he could both feel and see the effect on Scar and Wane discovered that the guy was far easier to talk to when under the influence of his potion. He became almost likable!  
“Scar,” Wane said, “why ‘Scar’? I mean, I thought I was going to work with this badass with a giant scar on his face or something, but then he showed up with this pretty, little boy with flawless skin.”

Scar smiled a little into his glass before drinking and then straightening in his chair with a soft exhale. “It was Gellert who gave me the name. I left behind my old life and became someone new, so I needed a new name. I think he saw me as the scar on the Ministry’s face, as he had recruited the Minister’s own son to his cause.” There was a mirthless smile. “Gellert had a taste for drama.”

Wane raised an eyebrow and tilted his head slightly in acknowledgement of that fact, before he suddenly frowned. “What was your name again? Robert? Ray?”

“Regis.” Scar admitted quietly, running a finger along the brim of his glass. “But nobody calls me that anymore. Only… those few people who thought I was worth trying to save, I guess.”

So that was something they did not have in common, Wane realized, as no one thought _he_ was worth saving. He watched Scar drink the last couple of drops in his glass in silence, wondering if what he felt was envy or relief that Scar had someone who cared even if neither of their families did.

-

Scar was surprised to feel pleasantly drowsy. He felt relaxed and more light-hearted than he had in ages. Whatever had been in that potion Wane had given him, it had been a welcome respite to his constant worrying these days.

Once they had cleared the table, Scar gave a long and lazy stretch before announcing he was retiring for the night. “I have to say, Wane, you are far more tolerable when I’m drunk. I’m dangerously close to forgetting what big of a jerk you are.” He grinned at the sour look he got in return. “Good night!”

Scar had taken about three steps when an arm snaked around his waist and he was pulled back against Wane’s body. 

“And just where do you think you’re going?” Wane drawled, radiating heat and lust.

“To sleep,” Scar informed him drily, taking a hold of his arm to daintily remove the embrace. But then Wane placed a dwelling, open-mouthed kiss on the side of his neck and suddenly Scar felt his knees about to give in. Instead of tugging Wane’s arm away, he grabbed a fierce hold of it to anchor himself and unknowingly tilted his head to give him better access. This connection that made them share feelings was extra problematic when the guy attacked his weak spots as well…!

“Sleep later,” Wane murmured by his ear, spreading his fingers wide on Scar’s stomach and pushing him firmer and suggestively against himself. “I n… I want…”

“What?” Scar asked, a little breathless. “What do you want?” He didn’t mean to squirm a little against him, but he found himself doing it anyway and shivered at the response pushing back at him.

Wane groaned softly, placing his other hand on Scar’s throat and made him tilt his head up and turn his face towards his so he could steal several deep kisses. “You,” he mumbled against his lips. “I want to taste you. Feel you. Feel this.”

Scar hesitated, not sure whether he was drunk from the potion or the fierce lust radiating from Wane, but realized he was responding willingly to the kisses and was still moving with teasing rolls against Wane and figured; why not? They only had one more ingredient to get and once the bond was broken; they would go their separate ways. 

Turning to face him, Scar had just enough time to slide his hands behind Wane’s neck and tug him into a kiss before he was shoved against the wall and a very insistent Wane was plastered up against him without leaving his lips. It was an intoxicating feeling, to put it mildly!

They kissed and ground against each other for far longer than either would ever admit, until Wane pulled back slightly and tugged desperately at Scar’s shirt. 

“Off,” he insisted. “Please. Off.”

Scar only considered refusing for a half a second, but as the man _did_ say please…

-

In the past, Scar had never been a man enslaved to carnal pleasures. He’d had his share of encounters, but there were so much more important things to tend to! The problem was, currently, he could not remember what those things were!

Once his shirt had come off, Wane’s mouth had attached itself with its wet heat to his skin and every sensitive area. It made Scar’s blood heat up even more and Wane fed off his feelings like the damn vampire he was, only to send his own increased excitement back to Scar. It was a dangerous loop of accumulating desire.

At one point, Scar managed to yank Wane’s shirt off him as well, but then they were stumbling towards Wane’s bedroom and only barely made it to the bed.

Wet heat, skin against skin, drops of sweat, gasping breaths and fingers digging in to leave bruises; Scar had never experienced anything like it. And judging by the desperation in Wane; neither had he. For once the usually so obstinate Bathory was eager and obedient under Scar’s hands and _that_ could become a dangerous addiction!

Scar was close to tears when he finally found his release, straining under twice the amount of pleasure his brain was hardwired to handle, and Wane made a whine of tortured bliss when he followed.

Whether he passed out or actually fell asleep, Scar had no idea. But he did wake up in Wane’s bed, naked as the day he was born, only covered by the bed sheet and Wane’s arm around his waist.

Wait, what?

Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, Scar glanced over his shoulder and was surprised to find the equally naked Wane asleep; curled up close and having a possessive arm around him like he had every right to do so.  
Frowning, Scar let his gaze follow Wane’s arm and was even more startled to find his own hand covering his. What?!

He placed his head on the pillow again and tried to make sense out of the situation. It was only natural that they wouldn’t respect personal space after the intimacy they’d just shared, but one thing was sleeping too close to each other, Scar holding on to Wane was a completely different thing!

Yet, he didn’t let go. Not yet.

Scar stared emptily ahead for a long while, unsettled and not able to pinpoint the reason for it. He even found himself tightening his grip on Wane’s hand ever so lightly at one point when he got too uncomfortable, but realizing what he had just done made him even more upset.

Sensing his distress in his sleep, Wane moved closer, tightening his grip around his waist and resting his chin on Scar’s shoulder, as if to protect and comfort him.

Hah.

But- Scar swallowed hard –but he could… pretend it was true, just for a little while, couldn’t he? 

Yeah, for a moment he could allow himself to pretend he’d come back to this world for a reason, that he wasn’t alone, that Wane wasn’t a heartless bastard and that breaking the bond wouldn’t send Scar back into the eternal darkness.

But just for a moment. Because he knew the real world didn’t work that way.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scar wants to go out and they make a toast with a very special drink.

Wane woke up feeling calm and rested, filled with a lazy satisfaction that was both his own and someone else’s. Wait, what? Frowning a little, he opened his eyes and realized he wasn’t alone. No, he was clinging to the sleeping Scar like a brat holding on to his teddy bear. Pathetic.

His upper lip curled with disdain and Wane automatically tried to pull his arm away; only to discover that Scar had a pretty good grip on it. That made him pause. Ok, at least Scar couldn’t hassle him for being weak as he was equally clingy. Good. And if he still tried to give Wane attitude, Wane would just point out that he was simply protecting his Obscurus. It was his creation after all!

Allowing himself a few more minutes of processing the situation, Wane had never woken up in bed with anyone he actually knew before and it felt odd! He ended up pulling his hand free and not caring if he woke Scar up. He got out of bed and marched to the shower. 

When he returned to the room later, one towel around his waist and one he was using to dry his hair, Wane was both disappointed and relieved to find Scar gone. He dried off and got dressed, increasingly annoyed at how unsettled he felt, before he headed to the kitchen.

Scar was already there; drinking coffee and reading a newspaper by the table, noticeably not looking up at him to acknowledge Wane’s presence. An enticing smell told Wane that he’d re-heated some of the leftover rolls. A quick glance to the kitchen counter served to confirm that. 

Wane hesitated.

“No poison today either.” Scar stated in a neutral voice. Still not looking up at him, but Wane couldn’t sense any anger in him. 

Shifting his weight in the doorway, Wane kept hesitating. “I can…?” 

Finally Scar glanced up at him, now with a slight smile. “I don’t see anyone else here. It’s just breakfast, Wane. Again. Surely someone must’ve made you breakfast before?”

No.   
Wane shrugged with nonchalance. “Of course.” He sauntered over to the rolls. “I just never know if you’ll go territorial over your stuff, like your creatures do. Better to make sure, so I don’t lose a limb or something.”

Scar snorted a laugh and focused on his newspaper again. “Idiot.”

Munching on a roll, Wane kept his gaze on Scar. He remembered when Grindlewald had told him he was going to work with a wizard known as Scar to acquire Credence Barebone and his Obscurus to their team. He had pretty much dismissed the man as unremarkable, with his obsession with magical creatures and his eerie silence, but now he was starting to wonder if there wasn’t something about Scar after all… His fearlessness while facing a damn Chimera was certainly unique and something Wane was fairly certain had nothing to do with the Obscurus. It was just in his nature. 

Tilting his head, taking another bite of the roll, Wane noticed a revealing mark on the side of Scar’s neck. A mark left there the night before by Wane’s own mouth. He remembered the heat against his lips and the salty taste of his skin.  
Moving closer, he reached out and drew a light touch over the mark. He smiled a little when he saw Scar tense up, a telling flush crawling up his neck, and the weird, unsettled feeling vanished.

-

Wane spent the morning preparing and mixing the ingredients they had already secured for the potion he hoped would sever the bond between them. While he’d never been in this particular situation before, tied to someone else through a failed Obscurus experiment, Wane was confident that the spell-breaking potion would do the trick. The final ingredient, the magical mirror, would add the power needed to sever the connection!

Once he’d done the initial mixing, he bottled the unfinished potion securely and started packing his other projects as well. It was time to leave the apartment and travel to where they would steal the mirror.

Traveling by train had always been Wane’s favorite mode of transportation and this time was no different. He was lazing about in his comfortable seat while the scenery rushed by in the window next to him, smiling prettily to the ladies passing him by and relishing in the flustered responses he got.

It took a while for him to register the sour vibes from the seat opposite of him but once he did; Wane gleefully shifted his attention to Scar. The man didn’t even try to hide his annoyance; glaring directly at him.   
Laughing a little, Wane sent him a teasing wink. “Jealous?”

Scar responded with a scorn-filled scoff before crossing his arms and demonstratively staring out the window instead.

Wane’s grin widened and he stretched out a leg to prod at him with the tip of his shoe. “Lighten up, Scar. It’s just a little fun! Remember fun?”

Returning to glaring at Wane, Scar did not seem mollified. “I thought we were meant to travel without drawing attention to ourselves?”

“Fine! Merlin, you’re as uptight as Percival Graves!” Wane slouched deeper in his seat and felt himself on the edge of sulking. “To know what life is worth, you have to risk it once in a while.”

“I would have thought you preferred Nietzsche to Sartre.” Scar fired back at his quote, turning his gaze to the window again.

Surprised, Wane forgot about being annoyed. “You know about Nietzsche and Sartre?”

“I know,” Scar said, getting comfortable and closing his eyes, “that I would really appreciate some peace and quiet from now on.”

Fascinated, Wane kept staring at Scar, wondering what other hidden sides he had, and lost all interest in flirting with other passengers. Like a cat staring at a mouse, he knew he had all the entertainment he needed right there in front of him.

-

Arriving in the city, Scar waited outside the building while Wane went inside and secured them an apartment that was for rent. He’d rather not have anything to do with people and Wane found great joy in manipulating people, so the arrangement worked out nicely for the both of them.  
Scar grit his teeth and tried to ignore the smug satisfaction radiating from Wane while he was talking to the owner of the building. Clearly he was using his ‘charms’ again, luckily nothing physical, and getting the validation he seemed to need so much. This was why Scar preferred his pets to people!

A couple of minutes later, he was ushered inside as well and the two were let into a magnificent apartment by a young, doe-eyed man who couldn’t stop staring at Wane. Scar pretended not to notice. It was just so annoying how much it annoyed him when he didn’t care, which he didn’t!

Once they were alone again, after Wane had whispered sweet nothings in the young man’s ear, Wane was all business again and placed a huge map of the city on the table. He gave it a quick glance-over and then pointed at one location. “There. That’s where our mirror is.”

Leaning over the map, Scar studied the area. “If the mirror is that valuable, he’s bound to have it protected.”

“Not necessarily,” Wane grinned. “The guy is arrogant. Something tells me that he thinks he’ll be able to keep it safe himself due to his powers.” His grin widened. “And the only thing more dangerous than ignorance is arrogance.”

“That should make the both of you very dangerous then.” Scar muttered absently, still studying the map. “So we just follow the same old plan of breaking in and stealing it?”

Slightly offended, Wane shrugged. “With the minor difference if we get caught this time, he is going to be a serious problem. His powers are on Theseus Scamander’s level. Unless you got that Obscurus of yours under control, we’ll stand no chance against him.”

“Let’s not get caught then.” Scar straightened and focused on Wane. “When do we leave?”

“Tonight.” Wane straightened with a sigh. “I want to spend as little time as possible in this city. Too many Aurors here.”

Scar nodded. He tried to ignore the nervous tightening in his stomach at the idea of the potion finally completed and what it might mean for him, but he had as much luck with that as ignoring Wane’s eternal flirting. “The faster, the better.”

“Relax!” Wane gave him his pretty smile, obviously picking up on Scar’s nervousness and mistaking the reason behind it. “The guy might be an Auror, but I’m expert at stealing stuff!”

“You’re also a professional liar,” Scar drawled, his own smile shaky but true.   
If this was going to be his last twenty four hours breathing and feeling, he was going to enjoy them.  
“Hey”, Scar said, “let’s go out.”

Wane nearly had a heart-attack.

-

“I should have known,” Wane grumbled, glaring down at where Scar was sitting.

Scar tried to hide a smile and failed, but he kept his eyes on the assortment of magical creatures surrounding him and kept petting them. “I said ‘out’, I never said where.”

Wane glanced around with distaste. He’d never spent more than a couple of minutes in a park throughout his entire life. This was not what he’d imagined when Scar had suggested they’d go out!

Turning back to glare at Scar and thoroughly express his displeasure, Wane ended up saying nothing.   
The utter peace and contentment he felt from Scar through the bond was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. It was enticing and revolting at the same time; something he’d been taught to shun and yet found himself curious about. He’d never been that still and not restless.

Wane’s gaze followed Scar’s hand as it slid gently across the shimmery coat of a deer-like creature curled up on his lap. There was tenderness to that touch that made him understand why even wild creatures went tame under it.

Maybe Scar wasn’t a prodigy casting spells by wand, but there was definitely something magical about that touch that he’d never seen any other wizard master.

Keeping quiet, Wane almost didn’t mind that they spent several hours in the park before getting ready for the final break-in.

The burglary itself was rather anti-climatic! Getting into the building wasn’t difficult, there were only a couple of hidden traps and no guards came bursting in when they had their hands on the mirror! Wane was almost disappointed when they were back in the apartment and nothing bad happened.

Scar held the mirror while Wane set up the equipment for finish the potion. Strangely enough a constant hum of sadness was radiating from Scar and Wane paused to glance over at him. “Something wrong?”

It took a long time before Scar answered. He eventually held out the mirror for Wane to take and shrugged a little. “I was just getting used to being alive again, that’s all.”

“What are you talking about?” Wane asked, frowning confused.

“Once the bond is broken, when the Obscurus is no longer connected to you, it might dissolve, right? With its anchor gone, there is nothing keeping it here. And without that, I’m… well, I’ll be dead again, won’t I?”

Startled, Wane realized that Scar had been thinking about this since they day they had been forced back together and began their quest to create the potion. He hadn’t been learning to have fun; Scar had been trying to enjoy his last days! Why had he even agreed to help create the potion?!

“Don’t be stupid,” Wane huffed. “We’re severing the bond, not dissolving the Obscurus. I’m afraid you’re going to be stuck with that poor excuse for a clone for a long time.”

“But you don’t know that for sure,” Scar countered silently. For once, he was avoiding eye contact. 

“Yes, I do.” Wane reached out, placed a finger under Scar’s chin and made him lift his face to look at him. “I know potions, how they work and their effect. I created that Obscurus; I know its weakness and its strengths. You know, I’ve actually grown fond of being without it; to able to think for myself and stay in the present!” He gave him an encouraging smile. “You’re going to be fine.” He winked. “Trust me.”

Scar breathed a laugh. “Trust you? _You_?” But then, weirdly enough, he actually seemed to consider it for a moment and then, even weirder; he nodded, once. “Okay.”

-

Wane blinked. “What?” Suddenly he was the one who felt a hint of fear.

“I said; okay.”

“Okay,” Wane echoed in a faint voice. Nonono, he did NOT want that responsibility! “Just, you know,” he cleared his throat, “just in this instance. After this, I make no promises.”

Laughing silently, Scar nodded. “Duly noted. I would expect nothing less.”

“Good.” Better, but still uncomfortable. Wane cleared his throat again and turned back to his make-shift workplace to finish the damn potion.  
Once the mixing and the rituals were done, Wane wiped his hands clean before turning to face the other man. “Twelve hours, then sweet freedom.”

Scar nodded. He was still uneasy, but better than before. 

Wane walked over and leaned against the wall next to him. He nudged his shoulder against his. “Want to head back to the park? I’m sure there are probably some horribly creepy, nocturnal beasts that would want to eat me and be petted by you.” Why did he just suggest that? What was wrong with him?

Scar snorted amused, but shook his head. It was as if he had said his goodbyes. He reached out, took a hold of Wane’s shirt and tugged him in front of himself. “There’s something else I want.”

Surprised, Wane opened his mouth to deliver a snarky comment, but found himself in the middle of a slow and deep kiss before he could actually get the words out. 

Slow became the keyword of what followed. Unlike their previous trysts, this round was all about taking their time while undressing and caressing. Wane realized Scar was using that magic of his, taming the wild beast, but couldn’t get himself to mind. It felt too good. Merlin, it felt SO good! His hands, his mouth, his everything…

Usually he was the one who kept urging things along, who stoked the fire and kept demanding more. This time Wane ended up finding himself gasping softly into the sheets, dazed with pleasure and shining with sweat, but in no hurry. He had no idea what had possessed Scar, but Wane would fucking _murder_ whoever tried to exorcise it out of him!

A random thought that this would be the last night they’d feel things this powerful was almost enough to make Wane want to throw that damn potion out the window!

Especially as Scar’s release made Wane unable to breathe in empathic pleasure.

Ages later, Wane was catching his breath and trying hard not to think. Instead of worrying, he decided to merely absorb the quiet peace he sensed in the sleeping Scar; who was at that moment spooning the hell out of Wane like it was the most natural thing in the world, and he let him. 

-

Waking up next morning felt a bit like waking up to his execution day. Still, Scar tried to push the unease away. Wane had said he wouldn’t disappear and for some odd reason; he wanted to believe him.  
He hoisted himself up on an elbow and looked down on the sleeping man next to him. Asleep Wane looked perfectly innocent with his wild curls, long eyelashes and pretty mouth. The perfect deception. Yet, Scar found that he wouldn’t have minded pretending to be fooled for a little longer…

Getting out of bed and getting dressed in silence, Scar decided to skip breakfast, he wasn’t hungry, and wait in the living room for Wane to wake up. It took less than thirty minutes, but instead of going to the kitchen or the living room; Scar heard Wane going directly to check on the potion. 

Moments later, he appeared in the doorway to the living room, holding two cups, and looking at Scar with a blank expression on his face. The bond revealed he was tense and uncomfortable.

Scar got up from his chair, walked over and took one of the cups. He stared at the silver liquid in the cup and couldn’t help a nervous clench in his stomach. Knowing Wane could probably sense it, he forced himself to look over at him and smile. “Ready?” Scar lifted the cup in a mock salute.

Wane hesitated, but finally managed to put on a fake smile as well. “While I will miss certain things with this bond, it would make things very unpractical: being unable to separate for more than a couple of blocks.” He almost sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

“Here’s to freedom!” Scar declared, lifting his glass and drinking all of its content before he could change his mind. He had known this day would come and he was tired of fearing it.

Wane stared at him for a couple of seconds, and then drank the content of his cup as well.

At first it felt like nothing was happening, nothing had changed, but suddenly it felt like someone was dimming the lights in the room. Scar drew a shaky breath as he could feel the bond between them breaking, thread by thread, and closing Wane off to him. He hadn’t realized just how much of Wane’s feelings he was tapped into, merely figuring he was reading his mood by his expressions, but now it was fading and leaving him with a feeling of being colorblind. He felt… alone.

Wane frowned, staring into his cup and avoiding looking at Scar. He seemed dissatisfied, but without the bond, Scar knew he would never know. 

Holding his breath, waiting for the rest of the world to vanish along with his connection to Wane, Scar was hyper-aware of any changes that would come, but eventually he realized that he didn’t feel any other diminishing sensations. He could still feel the Obscurus coiled inside him, unpredictable and angry as ever, unchanged by the potion. He also felt scared, which meant he was still capable of feeling.

Scar realized he would live!

Relief mixed with a strange sadness as Scar was about to tell Wane he’d been right about him not dying after all when one Auror after another suddenly apparated behind Wane. 

Before Scar could even shout out a warning, there was a flash of light as a spell hit Wane; sending him crashing to the floor and kept him there.

More Aurors apparated in the room, each of them armed and aiming for Scar.   
They attacked.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is fighting and there is blood.

The attack came from out of nowhere. Wane never saw them coming. He just felt something slamming into him and it left him stunned and confused on the ground. He wasn’t even sure how much time had passed, but eventually the sound of Scar screaming tore him back to the present.

Rolling over on his stomach, Wane lifted his head and saw Scar partially transformed into his Obscurus mode while being bombarded with attack spells. There were just too many powerful Aurors surrounding him for Scar to be able to defeat them and now they had him pinned with attacks from all sides, preventing him from fully changing. 

Wane saw Scar writhe in agony, heard his pained cries and saw the broken Obscurus grow weaker in its futile effort to protect its host. He didn’t need the bond to know that Scar was dying along with the Obscurus being torn apart. They were killing him!

He’d told Scar he wasn’t going to die, had reassured him, had just about promised him…   
And now that it was over, they would drag Wane back to his cell; to serve their cause and linger there for the rest of his days, along with the knowledge that Scar was gone forever because Wane had failed yet again.

No. 

Reaching into his left pocket, Wane dug out a small crystal ball he’d filled up and brought everywhere in case of an emergency. If shattered, the ball would produce a bright light that would blind its victims from fifteen to thirty seconds, and go off with a loud bang bound to deafen them more than a little as well. 

He drew a couple of deep breaths, trying to convince himself it was the right thing to do but only believing it when he heard Scar scream again. Wane closed his eyes and threw the crystal ball.

While the Aurors stumbled about, blind and deaf, Wane scrambled to his feet and made his way over to where Scar had collapsed. He was already fading and fading fast, beyond the aid of healing spells. Scar was disappearing in front of his eyes and Wane knew they had lost their fight for freedom…

Wane knew he could never defeat the Aurors himself, not without the Obscurus, there was no way out for him, but there was something he _could_ do for Scar. 

Kneeling by his side, Wane pulled a knife out from his right pocket and didn’t hesitate to slit his own wrist; a deep and deadly cut. Before the first arterial spray burst free, he had already shoved his wrist between Scar’s lips and the blood flooded his mouth; Bathory blood, where they stored their magic and their long life. A true source of power after decades of experiments and breeding.

Wane gritted his teeth against the raw pain and the cold that instantly began to crawl up his arm. He could not believe he was doing this…! But there was no going back now. He’d made his choice. This was one thing that could not be undone.

Scar gulped down the liquid by reflex as he was more unconscious than not and swallowed a couple of more times, but then his eyes opened wide as living heat and magic began to flow through him. He stared at Wane with shock all over his face.

“It’s okay,” Wane said, trying to force a smile despite how he felt increasingly weaker by each spray of blood leaving his body (It really _hurt_ as the magic tried to resist leaving him) and darkness was creeping in at an alarming rate. “You’re not a complete jerk, Regis. You have people who care about you.” He sighed. “I’m not going back to that cell, never again, and no one will mourn me, so you live. Get out of here. Run.”

Scar swallowed a few times more, unable to object or pull away, the Obscurus deciding for him, and Wane felt himself sag forward as his powers were now close to depleted. He managed to lift his head and make eye-contact with Scar a final time, giving his stubborn smirk a final time, then a blast of Auror magic hit Wane and knocked him away. The impact made him roll over a couple of times, but then he came to a halt, lying with his back towards Scar, and did not move again.

-

Scar, barely able to sit up, wiped his blood-smeared mouth and stared with disbelief at Wane. A spell sent towards Scar was swatted away with a swipe from his exhausted Obscurus. Too weak to get up on his feet, Scar crawled towards Wane and rolled him over on his back with trembling hands.

Wane was the one unconscious now. Scar saw the blood still pumping from the ruined wrist, but it was moving at a sluggish pace and Wane’s lips were almost blue. Reaching out, Scar instinctively wrapped his hand around the wrist, pressing down hard on the wound in an effort to stem the bleeding. He sat bent protectively over Wane as the Aurors now approached them with their wands ready to attack. 

Scar glared at them, snarling with blood-stained teeth, looking every bit as one of the wild creatures he had once died to defend. He wasn’t running away. He wasn’t going anywhere without Wane.

Ready to go down fighting, Scar gathered what little strength he had, thanks to the foreign magic bubbling in his veins. He was absolutely NOT prepared for how a window and most of the wall surrounding it suddenly exploded! A huge black mass flooded into the room; picking up Aurors and throwing them left and right, roaring with an anger rivaling Scar’s own.

He stared wide-eyed at the darkness, struck by the fierce familiarity of it, and was no less surprised when three figures came walking out of the black chaos and headed straight for him.  
Percival Graves took a hold of Scar’s right elbow and yanked him to his feet.

“No,” Scar objected, trying in vain to pull free and reach back down to Wane’s wrist. “He’s dying!”

“Don’t worry. I got him.” Theseus Scamander said in a gentle voice, kneeling down next to Wane and wrapping his own hand around the bleeding wrist. Seconds later, he released him and the wound was closed.

“We should hurry,” Vasiliy Makarov mumbled, helping Theseus get up with the limp Wane over his shoulder.

Graves wrapped Scar’s arm over his own shoulders to help him walk, but his dark gaze was on the Russian. “You sure you got this?”

Makarov sent him a sour look. “It’s Obliviating. I think me and Creeshya can handle it.”

Graves made a sound and a facial expression that expressed his severe doubts on that subject.

Theseus huffed with fond resignation. “Come on, Percy. We need to get out of here. Let the boys do their work.”

Scar shook his head a little, as if he could wake himself from this crazy dream. “What… what are you doing here?”

“I could sense you were in trouble,” Credence explained, stepping out of the darkness as well but leaving up a massive whirl of unnatural magic to protect them. He sent him a faint smile. “I couldn’t save you back then, so this time… I had to do something.”

“I just don’t get why we have to save that one,” Graves grumbled, eyeing the man across Theseus’ shoulder. “Wane Bathory should have died back during the war. We could correct that now.”

Scar inhaled sharply to object, but Credence beat him to it with a firm shake of his head. “Wane stays alive, for now. I want to have a word with him.”

“Then we’ll head back and you guys clean up here, yeah?” Theseus hoisted his cargo a little. “Good. Let’s go, Percy.”  
And before Scar could object to this as well, Percival Graves disapparated them away.

-

They apparated in some house and Graves merely dragged Scar along to a room with a single bed and a small table next to it. There he dumped Scar on the bed and frowned down at him. “Do you need anything?”

“Wane?” Scar asked. “Will he…?” Despite how the bond had been broken by the potion, he realized he could once again feel him. He could feel he was cold and in pain, adrift in darkness.

Graves glanced briefly behind himself, watching as Theseus carried Bathory to the other guestroom, before focusing on Scar again. “They’ll look after him. You heard Credence; he doesn’t get to die yet.”

Nodding, Scar knew enough of Graves’ blunt nature to know that he would have told him if they intended to let Wane die. It seemed like Wane and Scar were both safe, for now.  
“Thank you,” Scar mumbled, fighting against unconsciousness and losing the battle. 

“You came to our aid once,” Graves said, not unkindly. “Sleep. You got beat up pretty badly back there. I’m impressed you’re still alive.”

“He saved me,” Scar slurred, eyes closing. “Wane… saved me.”

He drifted off into a restless sleep. It became a twisted mix of his own thoughts, a nightmarish dream and a thread of Wane’s consciousness.

-What did you do to me? Scar asked the darkness, knowing Wane could hear him.  
-I made sure you’d survive, was the reply.   
-The bond was broken, why can I feel you?  
-Bathory blood. It’s different. It’s our life, our magic, our soul…  
-What’s going to happen to you?

This time there was no reply and no matter what Scar asked after that, Wane remained silent.

“Scar?”

A voice reached him and Scar opened his eyes with a gasp. Glancing around the room, he found Credence sitting on a chair next to his bed. “What…?”

“I’m sorry,” Credence said, gentle and quiet, “but you’ve been asleep for three days.”

“Three… days?” Scar tried to sit up and Credence had to help him. “What…? How…?” He suddenly focused on the Obscurial with sharp attention. “Wane?”

Credence avoided his eyes. “We’ve tried everything. I’m sorry. He’s alive, but…”

Scar grabbed a hold of Credence’s arm. “Bring me to him.”

-

Scamander and Makarov were already in the room when Scar, barely able to walk, and Credence joined them. No one said a word as Scar slowly approached the bed where Wane was lying.  
Pale was almost an understatement when it came to describing Wane. He seemed like an empty shell, barely breathing and cold to the touch.

“He’s in hypovolemic shock. He lost too much blood and his body can’t replace it fast enough,” Theseus explained quietly once Scar was standing next to the bed. “We’ve tried spells, blood-replenishing potions, but nothing is working. His body is rejecting everything. I’m sorry.”

“He’s a Bathory,” Scar whispered. “Their blood is… special.”

“Maybe if we ask his family,” Credence began. “I can reach them if I…”

“No.” Scar interrupted him, sitting down next to Wane. “They won’t help. They’re not… the helping kind, even if it is one of their own. He told me.” He ignored the looks the others exchanged behind his back, knowing he’d reacted with similar disbelief when Wane told him, and merely wrapped both of his hands around one of Wane’s. His skin felt so cold… And Scar could almost sense how his heart was struggling to keep his body functioning. It wouldn’t be able to keep going for much longer.

“You idiot…” Scar whispered. He had not asked for this! He had been ready, though not overjoyed, to go back to the darkness. Wane did not have the right to make this choice for him! Nobody would mourn him, he’d said. Well, he was wrong! AGAIN!

Staring down at their hands, an idea suddenly came to Scar. “You’ll have to take it from me.”

“What?” Theseus asked.

“The blood. He gave some of it to me to keep me alive.” He nodded absently. “Yeah. That’ll work.”

“No, it will not.” Makarov stated. “You are in no shape to give blood. It might just kill you both.”

“He’s right.” Credence said. “You’ve been asleep for three days, Scar. You’re still recovering yourself.”

“And his body is rejecting magic anyway,” Theseus shot in. “It would be pointless to try to transfer.”

“Then get a muggle doctor,” Scar countered, not taking his eyes off Wane. “I’ll be fine.” When nothing happened, he sighed again. “Listen, either you guys do what I ask, or I’ll do it myself.”

“Your guests, your call,” Theseus said to Credence.

Credence hesitated for the longest time, then, finally, he gave a little nod. “Okay. Okay, we’ll get a doctor.”

Scar smiled a little as the three apparated away, leaving him alone with Wane. “You’re not getting out of this so easily, you stupid vampire. Not when you’ve finally turned out to be interesting.”  
He sat by his side, waiting, drifting in and out of semi-sleep, until the trio returned; with a very startled man in a white coat.

-

Everything was cold and dark and terrifying. Wane was broken, completely helpless. There was no point in crying out, because nobody would hear him. There was no oxygen in the darkness, yet he kept struggling to breathe. He was disappearing. He was dying.  
Death was everything he’d been taught to fear; an endless, crushing void of nothingness. This was why the Bathories had devoted their family line to master death. Rabid panic tore through him along with despair as he knew he’d be swallowed up and forgotten forever.

No one would even remember him.

The darkness shattered when Wane’s eyes suddenly opened wide. He was surprised to find himself in a bright room, on a bed, and staring up at Credence Barebone looming over him! (Who looked quite startled to see him awake…)   
Wane’s every instinct screamed that Credence was there to finish the job and the thought of falling back into the abyss of death made Wane flinch violently into the pillow behind his head. (Ironically, the sudden movement made Credence flinch away as well!)

“Wane?” A familiar voice called out and there was a warm, calming touch to his arm.

Wane turned his head and found Scar sitting on a chair next to the bed. A tube was going from the inside of Scar’s elbow to Wane’s arm, a slow trail of blood traveling between them, and it certainly explained why the guy looked as horrible as Wane felt. “Scar…?”

A relieved smile broke free on Scar’s face and he slumped a little as tension left his body. “Don’t you ever do that to me again!”

Frowning a little, confused and wary, Wane glanced from Scar to Credence and back to Scar again. “What…?”

Credence cleared his throat awkwardly. “I’ll let you two talk. I’m just going to tell the other he’s awake.”

The others? Wane felt panic curling up in his stomach again, while Scar merely gave a faint nod as Credence gave his shoulder a light squeeze before leaving the room. What others? Graves, Scamander and Makarov? They were all there? Oh Merlin, Wane was in so much trouble!  
Despite how he was barely able to stay awake and unsettled by the tube stuck in his arm, Wane still reached out for Scar and was relieved to feel his touch when he took his hand. “Listen, Scar…” He shook his head a little to try to lift the fog in his mind. He needed to think! Act quickly! “Listen, we have to get out of here before they get back.”

Scar smiled a little. “Relax. They’re on our side.”

“They’re really not.” Wane countered, trying to sit up and failing. He was just too weak. “Graves has been rooting for my death since the war. Credence and Theseus wants me locked up. Makarov… fuck knows what goes on in that head.” He was out of breath from simply trying to sit up. The panic dialed up its intensity a notch. “They may like you, but I promise; they do NOT like me. Just… help me out, and you can stay?” He gritted his teeth, forcing the word out; “Please?”

Scar merely kept smiling. “They may not like you, I can’t say that I blame them after you tried to clone the Obscurus, but they’re not going to hurt you, or lock you up, okay? You’re safe. I promise.”

Wane realized he could actually feel calm reassurance radiating from Scar and frowned. “What in Morgana’s name is going on here?”

-

Scar told him about how he’d been awoken by Wane’s blood, his decision to take as many Aurors down with them as possible and the sudden arrival of Credence’s Obscurus, followed by the other three wizards. He told him about how neither blood-replenishing potions or healing spells had any effect on Wane, and how he had surmised that a muggle transfusion might work. As for their connection, similar to the bond created by the Obscurus, he guessed that it was due to the blood.

Now that the adrenaline was wearing off and he was being soothed by the other man’s calm, Wane was finding it more and more difficult to stay awake. Despite this, he had to admire how quickly Scar had caught on to the importance of the Bathory blood. He was such a clever thing; no wonder Hector had been desperate to get him back.

“Credence promised me, they are not going to hurt you, Wane.” Scar assured him once more. 

“And you believe him?” 

“Yes.”

“If they ever find out what I did back then, I’m dead. You know that, right? They will make sure I die screaming. And, unlike you, I won’t be coming back. They’ll make sure of that too.”

“They won’t find out.”Scar stated with such confidence that it was tempting to believe him. Then he added with a touch of curiously; “Do you regret it?”

Wane considered it. Would he betray Credence and his crew again to get what he needed? Yes. “I would do it again.” He then squirmed a little with a flicker of a guilty conscience. “But I never meant for them to be there longer than a couple of hours… I thought I could… I miscalculated and they paid the price. I regret that. I wouldn’t make that mistake again.” After twenty years in the hands of angry Unspeakables, he knew he still had only the faintest idea of what they had gone through with the Dementors. 

Yet, feeling sorry for what he had accidentally put them through changed absolutely nothing about the past, so it would be pointless to dwell on it. Wane shifted his focus back to Scar. He did not like how pale and fragile he appeared. “If you say we’re safe, I’ll take your word for it. Now, get some sleep. You look like crap.”

“Likewise,” Scar fired back with a faint smile.

“Shut up. I’m gorgeous.” Wane stated. He then sighed and shifted a little to the side on the mattress. “Come. At least lie down.”

To his surprise, Scar merely moved up next to him on the bed and settled with a soft huff. That alone told Wane how exhausted Scar was! “I’m not gonna sleep,” Scar slurred. “I’m just gonna…”

Seconds later, as Scar was sound asleep, Wane reached over and carefully pulled the needle out of Scar’s arm to make sure he was comfortable. Wane would live, no need to tax Scar further. “No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.” He quoted, before settling down next to him with a thoughtful frown.

Ten minutes later, Theseus poked his head in and blinked surprised at the sight of Scar and Wane asleep on the bed; entwined and relaxed in a healing rest. It was almost… cute, which made it deeply unsettling. He turned to leave, but changed his mind when he noticed something about the arm Wane had over Scar. Sneaking in, Theseus gently pulled the needle out of Wane’s arm, found that Scar’s needle had already been removed, and so he placed the transfusion equipment on the chair before leaving without waking either of them. Now they just needed to recover.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scar gets Obscurus-Obedience lessons from Credence!

In the time that followed, Scar and Wane were asleep more often than not, but eventually Scar felt strong enough to stay on his feet for more than five minutes. He then made the mistake of entering the living room, where the others, sans the still sleeping Wane, sent curious looks his way.

“What is it about people with an Obscurus falling in love with old, creepy guys who whisks them off with dubious consent at best?” Theseus asked out loud when Scar slowly sank into a chair furthest away from them.

“It wasn’t like that with us!” Credence objected.

“Old?” Percival echoed, brimming with offence.

“Creepy.” Vasiliy agreed.

“I’m not…” Scar began in a huff before starting over. “He knows… things and we… But that doesn’t mean...”

Percival got a look of utter distaste, “I really did not need to know that!”

“Percy,” Theseus waved a hand at him, suddenly interested, “let the boy talk! What… what are these… things?”

Credence couldn’t stop a laugh at how Scar flushed with embarrassment and sank down in his chair. He also couldn’t help but to feel bad for the socially awkward wizard. “Vasiliy, a little help here?”

Makarov shook his head. He was not getting involved.

“Come on!” Theseus leaned closer to Scar with one very enthusiastic smile. “You can’t say something like that and not follow up!”

Scar squirmed, face severely flushed and clearly uncomfortable. He got up from his chair. “I’m tired.” 

After Scar had fled the room, Theseus turned serious and glanced over at Credence. “Well?”

Credence made a thoughtful sigh. “Hard to say. It certainly feels more stable. Scar has a much better temperament for handling the Obscurus than Wane, which is positive, but I need to see it unleashed before I’ll know if he can control it or not.”

“Either way,” Percival said, “I fail to see why we’re keeping Wane Bathory alive or out of prison.”

“Hey, I kidnapped and Obliviated a damn muggle doctor for Bathory’s sake,” Theseus pointed out. “You don’t get to kill him and make my work in vain!”

“Wane stays alive.” Credence confirmed. “I still have some questions for him.”

“When Bathory has recovered his strength,” Vasiliy said, “controlling the Obscurus might not be our biggest problem. How are you going to control him?”

They all exchanged looks, but no one had an answer.

-

Wane slept more than he ever thought was possible. He was also more relieved than he’d ever admit that the hours he was indeed awake were spent either alone or with Scar. Graves and his followers kept their distance and that meant he had a little more time to recover and escape.

He hated how weak he felt! His body was working hard to replace the blood he’d lost, but not fast enough! Just a walk down the hall ended in him having to support himself against the wall to keep from falling over. 

Growling with angry impatience, Wane shuffled one more step forward and ended up in front of a window just as a loud roar emerged from the outside. Startled, he nearly fell flat on his behind and found himself looking out at the small backyard behind the house. Scar was standing in the yard, gazing up with his trademark calm at a massive Obscurus hovering above him. 

Wane almost forgot to breathe as he realized Credence had shifted into his Obscurus shape and it was such an amazing sight! The powerful darkness was even bigger than before, brimming with power and potential. 

When one black tendril reached out to Scar, Wane also realized that this was merely a friendly meeting between the two and not a challenge. Not that Scar would have stood a chance against the majestic beauty that was Credence’s Obscurus. They were two completely different things, even if they were connected by blood.

As if to prove Wane’s point, Scar’s Obscurus began to emerge as well. Compared to Credence’s powers, it was painfully clear how badly Wane had failed to copy them. Smaller, twitchy and unstable; Scar’s Obscurus rose to greet the other like a drunken puppy with lopsided ears and a broken fang.

Sighing, Wane decided to head back to his room before he collapsed and wouldn’t be able to get up again. He turned and found himself standing face to face with Percival Graves. Fear and adrenaline shot through Wane like a silver bullet. 

“For the record,” Graves said, his dark eyes sharp and hostile, “you’re only alive because we want some answers from you. I haven’t forgotten that you dared to place your hands on Credence. You stole his blood. I wouldn’t make any plans for the future, Bathory.”

“Is that a threat?” Wane asked in a neutral voice, trying hard to ignore how his heart was racing. The primal instinct for fight or flight was screaming inside him, but it would be pointless. He was too weak and Graves was too fast and too strong and aching for an excuse to attack.

“That’s a promise.” Graves said, casting a quick glance out the window before refocusing on Wane again. “Scar deserved to live, but you should have died in the war. You most definitely should have died during that recent Auror attack. Just know; you _will_ die at my hands.”

Wane clenched his jaw and remained still by pure willpower when Graves stalked by him and left. He waited a couple of moments before letting himself slide down to sit on the floor. His hands were trembling, cold sweat covered his skin and fear was a bitter taste in his mouth as he remembered the cold, dark abyss of death…

He had to get out of there. He had to escape! And he had to gain power to help him do just that.

-

“Wane?” Scar’s voice called out to him and he was surprised to see him trotting towards him where he was sitting in the hallway. “Are you okay?” He crouched down next to him with a concerned look.

“Yeah,” Wane replied, willing himself calm again. “Yeah, I’m… “He noted Credence Barebone coming towards them as well, but with a wary frown on his face. “Fine. I’m fine.”

“I felt…” Scar began, reaching out to touch Wane’s shoulder.

He’d felt his fear, Wane realized. He’d felt how scared Wane was and came running to help. For some reason, that made him even more distressed. “I lost balance and thought I was going to land on my face. Have you any idea how terrifying it would be for me to end up looking like you?”

Scar snorted. “Sounds to me like you’ve landed on your head more than once before.”

Credence paused behind Scar. His face was an expressionless mask. “Dizzy from the blood loss, huh? Yeah, I remember how that felt. Dizzy and tired, am I right?”

Wane managed to send him a tight smile to acknowledge the verbal jab before trying to get back up on his feet. He failed twice before allowing Scar to help him.

“Credence showed me some tricks on how to control the Obscurus,” Scar revealed with a touch of excitement, wrapping Wane’s arm over his shoulders to aid him during the walk back to the room.

“Is that so?” Wane replied absently, glancing back at the unmoving Credence. 

“It’s a bit different from his, but I don’t mind. I’ve always preferred the ones who don’t fit in.”

Wane shifted his focus back to Scar and realized with a sinking feeling that he could sense how fond Scar was of Credence Barebone; he actually considered him a friend. There was no way Scar would leave that behind; a friend and someone who could teach him how to control his powers.

Ok, so that meant that Wane was alone again. Big deal. He’d been alone all of his life. Nothing new there. He was actually a little glad that Scar had finally found some place where he could belong.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Scar suddenly asked. “You’re sad. I can feel it.”

Wane sighed, wanting nothing more than to crawl into bed again and sleep for at least two days. “I’m okay. It is just a little depressing to be unable to walk down a hallway without needing help to get back to the damn room.”

“Fine,” Scar said, patting his hand. “Keep your secrets. But you need to get better at lying.”

Wane frowned. There were times when he hated their bond and this was one of those times.  
“Tell me about controlling the Obscurus,” Wane said, changing the subject.

Scar did.

-

The next day Wane, steadier on his feet, stepped into the backyard with two cups with freshly brewed coffee. He blinked puzzled as he found Credence there and not Scar.

“I sent him on a flight. He’s learning fast.” Credence said, staring up at the empty sky.

“Oh.” Wane mumbled. He stood there in silence for a while before he shifted his weight awkwardly from one leg to the other. “I never could figure out how to properly control it…”

“Yeah,” Credence glanced over at him with a faint smirk, “I saw.”

Wane’s eyes narrowed a fraction, not overly fond of being reminded of his failure of not only copying the powers but controlling them as well. “Funny.” He glanced up at the sky before focusing on Credence again. “I was going to bring him some coffee. It’s going to be cold by the time he graces us with his presence. Do you want it?”

Credence hesitated, clearly suspicious of the offered cup held out to him.

Shrugging, withdrawing his hand, Wane took a sip of his own cup. “Whatever. It was just an offer.”

“I’ll take that one,” Credence said, taking the cup he just drank from.

Giving up the cup, Wane snorted. “You and Scar, you’re both so damn paranoid.”

“He thinks you’re worth saving, you know,” Credence said, sipping at the coffee. “He trusts you.”

A mistake.  
“A noble heart cannot suspect in others the pettiness and malice that it has never felt,” Wane mumbled, staring into his own cup. For a pragmatic soul, Scar could be damn naïve at times…

Credence glanced over at him with a thoughtful look and Wane met the gaze evenly.  
Scar might think he could be saved, but Credence clearly didn’t. And to be honest, Wane was inclined to agree with Credence. He didn’t need saving.

Him and Scar, it would never work anyways. One day Wane would mess up, he’d say the wrong thing, he’d do something rash because he cared more about results than methods, and Scar would leave. They always did. (Except Grindlewald.)

His own parents had abandoned him, so had his siblings and most of his family, why not Scar too?

No, Wane was on his own and he was going to need all the powers he could get his hands on to stay alive and stay free! The others would look after Scar, Wane needed to take care of himself. As always.


	9. Chapter 9

“I wanted to kill you for stealing my blood and creating that… “Credence said in a neutral voice. “You took a part of me, twisted it and I could sense its despair in your hands.”

Wane felt a flicker of morbid curiosity. “Why didn’t you?”

“ Because…” Credence seemed to gather his thoughts for a moment. “I think death would have been too easy for you.”

Wane almost smiled. That showed how little Credence knew of death.

“Keeping you locked up, in the hands of the Unspeakables, it seemed like a more suitable punishment.” Credence smirked a little. “Especially as I got to visit from time to time.”

“Yeah,” Wane grumbled, “I never got to thank you and Scamander for that.”

“Consider it payback for what you did to me,” Credence merely replied. “And be glad I didn’t send you to Azkaban.”

Wane flinched and felt nervous guilt lick up his spine. If Credence suspected… 

Credence smiled a little. “Relax. I wouldn’t send even _you_ there.” The smile faded. “But I’m not sure how much you’ve changed since the war, if you’ve changed at all. Do you even want a second chance, Wane?”

Wane felt the Bathory magic come to life in his blood and he looked directly into Credence’s eyes when he replied; “No.”

That’s when Credence collapsed.  
Wane tossed his cup away, crouched down and was just about to slide the needle into a vein, taking some comfort in that Wane Bathory wouldn’t be weak for much longer, when Scar’s voice suddenly broke the silence.

“Don’t even think about it.”

Busted.

“I told you,” Wane said, trying to smile and failing as he straightened and looked back at Scar standing behind him, “I told you that once the potion was done, you shouldn’t trust me.”

“I remember,” Scar replied. He looked and felt sad. “But I won’t allow you to do it.”

Wane hesitated. “I’m not going to hurt him. I’m just going to take a little, he won’t even feel it.”

Scar didn’t budge. “Credence is my friend. I won’t allow you to steal from him again.” He held his gaze calmly. “I will stop you, if I have to.”

Clenching his jaw hard, Wane struggled against the irrational anger bubbling inside him.

-

“I’m not choosing him over you, you idiot,” Scar scoffed, sensing his anger. “He’s my friend. I won’t let you hurt my friend. But that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped caring about you. I’m just stopping you from doing something that will end badly for all of us. Don’t do this!”

Wane was staring at him, clearly surprised at his words, his hand clenching hard on the syringe, then his eyes flickered from Scar to Credence and back to Scar again. Suddenly his walls came crashing down and he looked at him with an unfamiliar vulnerability in his eyes. “I have to! Because I need it. Because… You’re going to leave, eventually. Everyone does. Everyone always leaves. You will too.”

Scar moved closer, slowly reaching up to take his face between his hands, and met his gaze calmly. “No, I wouldn’t, and you know it.” There was no hesitation or doubt in the words. “But you have to choose; either you stop this and we leave together, or I stop you and you leave alone.”

Wane was clearly torn by the choice he had to make. There was nothing fake about the turmoil he could clearly sense in him, but Scar held his gaze steadily. He’d made his ultimatum and stood by it. It was all up to Wane now…

Time slowed down to a crawl, almost not moving at all, neither of them appeared to be breathing, merely waiting, and then, finally, Wane released his grip on the syringe and let it fall to the floor. 

“It’s you and me then.” Scar stated in an almost relieved whisper. He realized he didn’t need the blood-bond to feel the unease pulsating through the other man. Wane was going against everything he’d ever been taught, against what had kept him alive since his birth...

Wane did not speak, merely bent down and hid his face to Scar’s neck.

“We’ll leave together.” Scar moved one arm around his waist and ran his other hand over Wane’s neck in a slow, soothing gesture; rewarding good behavior as always. “Okay?”

“We don’t have to leave.” Wane mumbled against his skin. “You want to stay. We’ll stay.” 

Scar huffed a laugh. “No. No, we definitely have to leave. I would never be able to turn my back on you anywhere near Credence. Impulse control is not what you’re good at.”

Wane straightened with an annoyed look on his face. “I appreciate the vote of confidence.”

“I know you now. I know who you are and I don’t mind, but I also don’t want to expose you to constant temptation. I wouldn’t do that to my pets, why would I do that to you?”

“Did you just compare me to one of those monsters of yours?” Wane took a step backwards. “I just remembered; I don’t like you.”

Scar grinned as he sensed the lie. “Good. I don’t like you either. I’m just in this for the sex.” He stepped close to Wane again, allowing him to feel his lie, and tugged him down for a teasing kiss. Sometimes he really loved that bond between them. Words were not something he was good at.  
Abruptly pushing Wane away again, Scar nodded towards Credence. “Can you wake him up?”

“Yes.” Wane said, regaining his balance. “But why?”

“Because I want to talk to him. Explain.”

Wane made a face, hoping for Scar to change his mind, but when he didn’t; he kneeled down by the sleeping Obscurial. He sighed, questioning his own sanity for choosing Scar above a second chance at copying the Obscurus, before he pulled his hand back and promptly slapped Credence’s face. Hard.

-

It was hard to tell which one was the most startled; Scar or Credence who woke with a gasp.

Bewildered, Credence flailed for a few seconds before he managed to focus on Wane and realizing he was sitting on the ground. “How did you…? I saw you drinking from the damn cup!”

Wane shrugged. “I’m immune.” It was partially true. He was immune to most sleeping potions, but that was not what he’d used in this case. He decided not to mention his hypnotizing trick.

Credence groaned and gingerly rubbed the side of his face burning from the earlier impact. “I should have known.”

Nodding with another shrug, Wane merely said; “Yeah.”

“We’re leaving,” Scar suddenly interfered. “He didn’t hurt you and we’re leaving. Please don’t tell Graves.”

Sitting up, Credence pushed Wane’s hands away as he tried to help him. “Leaving? Why?”

“Because having you near Wane would be like dangling a piece of meat in front of a Nundu,” Scar stated. “You can train it not to touch it, but it would still be a cruel and constant temptation.”

Wane raised a hand with an exasperated facial expression. Compared to a monster, again?!

“But _you_ don’t have to leave,” Credence pointed out, getting up on his feet to face Scar. “There is still a whole bunch of things I can teach you about the Obscurus. You’d be safe here. With us.”

“I appreciate it,” Scar replied with a faint smile. “I really do. But while I don’t have to leave with him, I want to.” He shrugged. “And you’ve already shown me how to control the Obscurus. That’s all I need to know right now. I’ll figure out the rest later.”

“I can’t convince you to stay, huh?” Credence realized.

Scar shook his head with an apologetic look.

Credence then turned to face Wane. “When everybody advised against it, I decided to trust Percival. Lucky for me, it was the right choice. I just hope you’re going to prove yourself worthy of the trust being placed in you. Don’t fuck this up, Wane. Next time, I _will_ fight back.”

Wane clenched his jaw and glared in silence as Credence hugged Scar tight, ignoring how Scar awkwardly tensed up. Credence whispered something in his ear and then left without further words.  
“Okay,” Scar sighed, sending a final and forlorn glance at Credence’s back before walking over to Wane. “We should leave. Now.”

Wane didn’t move. “You do know this going to end badly. You and me. You _do_ know that, right?”

“What makes you so sure it’ll end badly?”

“Because I’m not…” Wane waved his hand in Credence’s general direction. “You belong with those guys.”

That made Scar snort a laugh. “Wane… Don’t compare me to Credence. He’s actually a good man. Me? I still think humanity is a mistake and their plight doesn’t interest me at all. You could drain them all of blood, for all that I care. Just don’t go after these four. I like them.”

Wane was not convinced. “And Leona Silvestri?”

Predictably, that made Scar tense up. He hesitated and cleared his throat while trying to meet his gaze. “She… She’s an Auror. She can defend herself and she knows the dangers of her job. The odds are that she’ll kick _your_ behind.” He hesitated again. “I will just ask you… not to go after her on purpose…”

“She would take you back if you spoke to her, Regis.” Wane said quietly. “You know she would. She and your father both.”

Scar shook his head. “That’s not what I want.”

“What do you want?” Wane asked, genuinely curious, and with a careful flicker of hope.

“You.” Scar replied matter of factly. He smiled a little at the surprise on Wane’s face and quoted; “If you press me to say why I loved him, I can say no more than because he was he and I was I.” 

Grinning, Wane reached out and snuck a hand behind Scar’s neck to tug him close to himself. “This is definitely going to end in a horrible, bloody and mangled mess, but something tells me it is going to be the most fun either one of us has ever had.” He could sense the excitement in Scar and shuddered with delight before stealing a teasing kiss. “If we’re leaving and I can’t get Obscurus blood, then I damn well want a new wand and I know just the place to steal it from!”

“Why am I not surprised?” Scar snorted laugh, secure in the bond between them. “Ok, let’s go.”

-

“You’re letting them leave?” Theseus asked with no small amount of confusion. “Are you really sure that’s a good idea?”

Credence managed a faint smile, feeling Percival’s piercing glare but deciding not to acknowledge it. “I think we caused enough damage with the Aurors to create a bit of breathing room for Scar and Wane to recover in peace. They are going to think that Scar’s Obscurus is a hell of a lot stronger than it really is, considering they’ll have no idea that we were involved, and that will make them a lot more wary about challenging him again.”

“But will also make him more tempting target,” Vasiliy added solemnly.

“True,” Credence admitted, “but hopefully, by the time they manage to track them down again, Scar will be ready.”

“I’m less interested in what happens to them compared to why we didn’t do anything about Wane Bathory betraying us, stealing your blood and creating that abomination.” Percival Graves got up from his chair and walked over to the window, as if contemplating going after the duo. 

“If anyone would know about the value of second chances, it should be the four of us,” Credence replied, a touch of sharpness to his voice. The glare Percival sent his way wasn’t a nice one, but Credence didn’t budge. He knew Percival couldn’t counter that argument, as he’d betrayed him once too.

Vasiliy sighed. “Letting the past go, I am more curious to hear why you think Bathory won’t do it again. Why you think he won’t try to steal your blood again and make new Obscurus. A better one.”

“Because Wane Bathory might be arrogant, but he’s not stupid.” Credence smiled like a razorblade. “In the Bathory spirit, I will quote a wise man; Do not mistake my kindness for weakness. I am kind to everyone, but when someone is unkind to me, weak is not what you are going to remember about me.” He was certain that Wane knew Credence would destroy him if he tried his tricks on more time.

Percival smirked, a hunger in his eyes now as he let a heavy gaze linger on Credence.

Theseus frowned thoughtfully for a moment before focusing on Credence again. “Did you just… quote Al Capone?”

Credence raised his eyebrows. “Yes?”

“You and I are going to have a long talk about proper role models, young man!” Theseus stated.

Credence tried to hold back a laugh and failed. “Like you?”

“Yes!” Theseus stalked over and then took up chase as Credence made a run for it.

Percival and Vasiliy exchanged a long suffering look of shared pain before they went back to ignoring each other.

-  
So Scar and Wane left for a life of crime on the run from the Ministry again, but this time by their own free will and Wane was right; it _was_ fun! 

And maybe they lived happily ever after, or maybe they didn’t, but there was happiness. And they did live.


End file.
